I had the opportunity to observe George’s Year 11 Math Standard session. During the lesson, George worked with the student on reviewing and verifying the math assignment to ensure all the calculations and concepts were correct. The assignment focused on financial math, and George took the time to explain where the student had made mistakes in specific areas, particularly with lump sums and loan repayments.

In addition to reviewing the assignment, George also used this time to cover general finance concepts to better prepare the student for their upcoming validation task. The session was largely centered around annuities and future value tables, as these were key topics the student would need to understand for the assessment. George’s approach was highly interactive, and the student remained engaged throughout the lesson. He asked numerous questions to clarify the material and ensure a strong grasp of the concepts being taught.

George also worked out the questions alongside the student. He did this to clearly show the working out needed to complete each questions to obtain full marks. This stuck out to me as an interesting and generally effective method to keep the session engaging and clarifying any mistakes in the students working out.

It was clear that George’s teaching style fostered a supportive learning environment, where the student felt comfortable seeking clarification and actively participating in the lesson. Overall, it was a productive session that not only focused on the immediate assignment but also reinforced important financial math concepts to aid in future tasks and assessments.

Tynan Philmara

Coming towards Christmas period and the end of term, it is important to remember that studying does not end. Many students see the period after exams are a time for relaxing and playing videogames with their friends, however, continuing to come to tutoring during this time can provide significant academic benefits.

Firstly, this period of time can help consolidate students’ knowledge on certain topics. Especially after finishing exams, it can highlight potential gaps in the student’s understanding. Post-exam tutoring allows for students to address these areas while the material is still fresh in their minds This further helps to solidify foundational knowledge, helping them to be at a great level at the beginning of the next year.

Furthermore, having tutoring after exams can help students prepare for future challenges for next year. Holidays provide an opportunity for students to get ahead of their class by introducing new concepts or build advanced skills. This will provide students with a head start when they start next year. Moreover, this can help reduce stress and build confidence when the year starts.

Additionally, studying in the holidays can help establish regular study habits. This is beneficial for students to develop before they begin school so they can keep a regular study routine. Moreover, this helps foster discipline by making students develop time management and organisational skills.

Finally, holiday tutoring can help take pressure of exams within the term. The extra time studying earlier in the term will keep students feeling more relaxed as they would be able to explore the topics in greater detail.

However, students should maintain a balanced routine that makes them feel that they deserve their holiday breaks. They should also not overstress and maintain social gatherings.

James Bletsas

Whether it’s stress from school, personal stuff, or just feeling off, juggling your own issues while tutoring can feel overwhelming. I know all to well that it’s tough to show up and be a supportive, encouraging tutor your students need when your own mental load feels heavy. But it’s not impossible.

1. Acknowledge your feelings (but don’t let them take over):
Admitting you’re struggling is the first step the key is not letting those feelings dominate your tutoring sessions. Take a moment before each session to check in with yourself. A deep breath or quick walk can help clear your head in order to be present with your student.

2. Set boundaries:
While it’s great to connect with students, remember that your role is to guide and support their learning—not to solve every problem in their lives (or yours). Keeping sessions focused on their goals can actually be grounding when everything else feels chaotic.

3. Use your struggles to empathise:
Dealing with challenges can make you a more compassionate tutor. If your student is stressed about an upcoming test or struggling with focus, you can relate. Share strategies that have helped you manage tough times—like breaking tasks into small chunks or focusing on what you can control.

4. Take care of yourself:
This might sound obvious, but self-care is essential. Whether it’s getting enough sleep, venting to a friend, or indulging in your favorite comfort food, taking time for yourself makes it easier to be there for others.

At the end of the day, tutoring isn’t about being perfect; it’s about showing up, doing your best, and creating a space where your students feel supported. And sometimes, helping them succeed can remind you that you’re capable of overcoming your own hurdles too.

Allegra Pezzullo

Today I had the pleasure of observing Sienna with her Year 12 student. Today they tackled a pretty tricky topic together – logarithms.

Logarithms can be scary as it’s essentially a new and unfamiliar number system! However, Sienna was calm, patient, and understanding, ultimately helping the student be less intimidated and more self-assured.

Sienna’s ability to switch up her mode of teaching was also admirable. Whenever she noticed that the student was struggling a bit with a concept, she would change her approach, tailoring her explanations to her students’ confidence and attitude.

Sienna also ensured that the student maintained their interest in the session by allowing moments of rest and enthusiastic conversation. It can be difficult for students to maintain high spirits when they come in to tutoring on a weekend, but Sienna’s disposition and ability to adapt negated all negative vibes!

Sienna was also incredibly skilful at reassuring the student when they were incorrect, allowing the student to first recognise their own mistake before providing a comprehensive explanation that cleared up any confusion. She was articulate about why certain methods were not applicable, and ensured that the student understood before they moved on.

Overall, this was a fantastic session to observe. Well done Sienna!

Sophie McGrath

As a first year university student who only completed their HSC last year, I have come to realise that tutoring other people has become not just a teaching experience, but also a personal opportunity to learn. By employing this new mindset, I have noted that these sessions inadvertently push me to develop my own critical thinking and problem solving skills, while constantly challenging me to communicate my ideas to different audiences.

One way in which I like to push myself to grow and make the most of these sessions is allowing and encouraging my students, especially the older ones, to take the helm. They have the responsibility to select and bring relevant material from their courses, and are encouraged to evaluate their own progress by identifying their own strengths and weaknesses, which determine the main focus of each session. Most of my decision-making while preparing for and conducting these sessions is led by what help I think I would have liked to have received when I was in their shoes. The memories of those relentless avalanches of impending deadlines, the feeling of the panic setting in at the crack of dawn on the day of an exam, and the absolute chokehold that the reveal of a rank or mark had on me, are not just fresh, but also still in the making. I am painfully familiar with the highly physically and emotionally demanding nature of the academic world, so the last thing I want to achieve with these sessions is to bombard these students with another mountain of mindless work. This is an underlying principle behind how I ensure that the sessions and the homework focus on boosting the students’ confidence , getting things done, and equipping them with the appropriate tools so that I can rest assured that they can independently meet their learning goals by themselves.

I am endlessly grateful for this opportunity to assist other young people in their academic journeys, while introspecting and examining how I can use these practises of sympathy, communication and adaptiveness across different contexts in my own life.

Nisan Erdonmez

During the second week of this most recent semester, my sociology tutor assigned us to complete brief comparative studies of cultural phenomena. Whereas other students examined broader systems and sociological trends, I was advised by my tutor to personalise my response to connect my work closer to my own experiences. As such, I delved into the world of private tutoring, particularly touching on the culture within South Korea and Taiwan. Education in these countries operates not just as a means of individual achievement but as a deeply ingrained cultural practice shaped by history, values, and economic structures.

In South Korea, tutoring is more than a supplement to schooling—it’s an integral part of the educational journey. With competitive university entrance exams at the centre of academic life, private tutoring, particularly through hagwons (for-profit private tutoring academies), reflects a cultural prioritisation of effort and perseverance (Kim and Lee, 2010). These institutions, far from being mere businesses, respond to a society where higher education is closely tied to career success. This ambitious system also presents challenges, such as unequal access for families with fewer resources. Still, it highlights South Korea’s collective commitment to education as a tool for advancement.

Taiwan’s approach is slightly different but no less revealing. Tutoring here often balances two goals: supporting students who need additional help and offering enrichment to those aiming higher. This dual role reflects a broader cultural ethos of striving for collective betterment while accommodating individual aspirations (Huang, 2013). Rather than focusing solely on competition, Taiwan’s tutoring culture demonstrates how education can adapt to serve diverse needs within society.

Both systems represent how deeply education reflects the values and priorities of a nation; neither inherently good nor bad, instead embody responses to complex social, economic, and cultural pressures. Educational systems evolve to meet national goals and individual expectations—and they sometimes fall short in addressing disparities. Ultimately, these insights go to show that education is never just about learning; but truly a mirror of a given society.

Toby Bower

I had the opportunity to observe Eireyna’s lesson, tutoring a Year 8 student in English. The session highlighted her ability to create a learning environment that is both structured and flexible, adapting to the student’s abilities.
The content that was covered was analysis for the taming of the shrew. Eireyna started the session by reviewing the student’s progress and identifying any areas that needed additional support. This allowed her to pinpoint learning gaps and encourage the student to be more comfortable in addressing concerns and challenges they were experiencing. This built an initial strong foundation for the lesson, helping the student feel more at ease, and setting a positive tone for the rest of the session.
Eireyna continued to reiterate the importance of analytical concepts and techniques within the scope of the course to ensure that the student can draw the connection of its relevance. This approach not only deepened comprehension but also encouraged the student to apply their learning outside of the course. Eieryna employed interactive visual materials to help keep the session lively and allowed the student to take an active role in their learning. The method of breaking down language structure into smaller refined parts not only made learning enjoyable but also promoted confidence in the student’s ability to construct sentences independently.
To finalise the lesson, Eireyna provided a summary of the student’s strengths while providing constructive feedback on improvements that the student could make in the future to avoid challenges and concerns. This helped proactively concise the lesson content in an overview.
Eireyna’s attention to detail and his creative use of teaching resources made the session both educational and enjoyable. Her patient and adaptive approach helped the student feel supported, while her enthusiastic teaching style ensured engagement throughout. Well done, Eireyna It was a thoroughly productive session that showcased effective teaching techniques.

Evanna Manavis

Today, I observed Jenna working with Georgia, a Year 3 student, on simplifying fractions. It was impressive to see how Jenna adapted her teaching style to match Georgia’s learning pace and kept the lesson engaging.

Jenna began the session by introducing the concept of simplifying fractions in a relatable way. She used visual aids like fraction strips and drawings to help Georgia see how fractions could be reduced to their simplest form. This hands-on approach made the abstract concept much more tangible for Georgia, and I noticed how her understanding grew as she interacted with these tools.

One of Jenna’s strengths was her ability to make the lesson interactive. Rather than simply explaining the rules, she asked Georgia to explain her reasoning as they worked through examples together. This not only reinforced Georgia’s understanding but also encouraged her to think critically about each step in the process.

Jenna also used positive reinforcement effectively. Each time Georgia simplified a fraction correctly, Jenna celebrated her success, which boosted Georgia’s confidence and enthusiasm for the subject. When Georgia made a mistake, Jenna guided her gently, asking questions to lead her toward the correct answer rather than simply providing it. This created a safe and supportive environment where Georgia felt comfortable trying again without fear of failure.

By the end of the lesson, Georgia had a stronger grasp of simplifying fractions and was even tackling more challenging problems with Jenna’s encouragement. Observing this session reminded me of the importance of patience, positivity, and using interactive methods to help younger students grasp foundational concepts. Jenna’s ability to create a dynamic and supportive learning environment was inspiring, and I look forward to incorporating similar techniques into my own tutoring sessions.

Demetria Koutavas

I’m watching one of my fellow tutors teach an Maths Advanced session right now, and his use of the whiteboard is brilliant. The problem he’s working on with the student involves integration, and instead of just diving straight into the equations, he starts by writing the question in big, clear writing on the board. He immediately breaks it down into sections, circling the key terms and drawing arrows to show how the different parts connect.

As he explains, he doesn’t just talk; he constantly interacts with the whiteboard. He draws quick sketches, like a rough graph to represent the curve they’re integrating under. It’s not perfect, but it doesn’t need to be. The visual is enough to help the student link the concept to the equation they’re solving.

What I find especially effective is how he pauses to ask the student questions while pointing to the board. He doesn’t give away the answers but nudges them in the right direction. For example, when they get stuck, he underlines a specific part of the problem and asks, “What do you think this tells us about the function?” It’s such a simple question, but it gets the student thinking actively instead of passively listening.

Now, he hands the marker to the student and lets them take over. As they write, he stands back and only steps in to clarify if needed. I notice how he keeps pointing back to earlier steps on the board, constantly reminding them how everything fits together. This approach really builds the student’s confidence, and they’re starting to solve more of the problem on their own.

Watching this makes me realise how powerful a tool the whiteboard is. It’s not just for writing answers but for creating a step-by-step map that makes complex Maths feel so much more manageable. I’m definitely taking notes on this technique for my own sessions!

Daniel Aghmesheh

I had the opportunity to observe Kate’s Year 12 Maths and History session. She did a great job going through a practice booklet with her student.

She came up with her own questions that were similar to the questions in the Maths booklet but were written differently or asked for a different component. This gave her student the ability to ensure he understood each aspect of the Maths concept.

They also went through exam technique and the best way to prepare for the exam. She gave him great tips to help him. He said that he didn’t study some of the topics that they skimmed through in class which was a mistake as it was in the exam.

They went through a range of different type of questions which he could then answer.

She had a great balance of letting him try and answer the question whilst also assisting him when he got stuck. She would also then check his working out to make sure he was on the right track. When he had any errors in his working, she would ask him to see if he could spot the errors or determine where he went wrong, which was great to see him double check his work. If he still needed help or was unsure what the next step was she would clearly break it down and step him through it. It was great to see the look on his face when he started to understand the solution.

I also watched them do some history to prepare him for his history exam. They looked at the topic WW1. They did some paragraph responses and then edited them to refine them. Through the editorial process, Kate gave him some great tips on different ways he can edit efficiently and effectively. They colour coded different sentences which they needed to add more detail to and other sentences to shorten or cut out completely.

Should would give him the opportunity to make any final adjustments before she would look over them and give any feedback.

He often got distracted so she did a great job getting him back on track to do some work.

Kate used a range of materials to ensure her student was equipt to answer a range of different theory and short answer questions so he can feel prepared and confident going into his history exam!

Her student asked her lots of questions to help clarify his understanding and to double check he was on the right track. Kate was great at answering all his questions.

Kate is a very compassionate tutor who
did such a great job!

Ashley Cohen