I had the opportunity to observe Emilia tutor her year 5 student in English. Specifically, they were working on poetry and poetic devices.

Firstly, Emilia is an excellent communicator and delivers information in an appropriate way that is tailored to her specific students. Given that her student is in year 5, a thorough and clear explanation of poetic devices is necessary. She would ask her student questions such as, “Can you brainstorm some poetic devices”, and would make good use of the whiteboard behind her. Emilia would use the whiteboard to allow her student to follow a clear and logical order when note taking in their workbook.

Secondly, Emilia is great at encouraging active recall and critical thinking by asking questions. It is important that as tutors we refrain from consistently giving our students direct answers as this does not allow them to develop their active recall. Emilia was very effective at asking her student questions in order to ignite thought, and when he would answer correctly she would provide appropriate validation, such as “well done” or “great job that’s correct”. This creates a powerful loop, whereby students actively chase this positive reinforcement and become determined to answer questions correctly.

Further, one of the unique ways that Emilia taught her student was by testing him. She would ask him questions about different poetic devices, such as metaphors and personification, and ask him to describe their meaning, purpose, and provide examples of each. It was great to observe that her student was genuinely engaged for the entirety of the lesson, which is a great reflection of Emilia’s tutoring capacity and ability to remain engaging via asking questions and encouraging active recall.

Overall, this was a great lesson to observe and I commend Emilia for her diligence and determination to instil discipline and confidence within her students.

Well Done Emilia.

James Petrakis