Today I was able to observe Nabil tutor his Year 12 student in Maths Advanced. Nabil appeared to be going through curve sketching and differentiation, doing past paper questions alongside his student. I commend Nabil for his effective ability to break-down simple and complex questions, which he did in a way that allowed his student to extract maximum understanding.

A highly essential element of being an effective tutor is communication. Nabil is a very effective communicator, whereby he consistently asked his student an array of questions in order to prompt thought, as opposed to solely providing the answer to a specific question. Nabil would ask questions related to certain content, past exam questions, and even formulas on the HSC formula sheet. In this way he was able to solidify his student’s understanding of differentiation and curve sketching, as a result of initiating active recall.

I also found it very useful as to how well-versed he was with what he was teaching. It is vital that tutors constantly update themselves with the subjects in which they teach and strive to remain as familiar as possible with specific concepts/topics. By having a strong understanding into curve sketching and calculus Nabil was able to quickly amend his student’s mistakes and had the capacity to recognise errors with ease. In alignment with his extensive knowledge, Nabil appears to be a very organised and structured tutor, ensuring that no time was wasted and that the lesson was tailored towards the specific mathematical needs of his student.

Finally, I liked how Nabil worked very closely with his student, reading along and watching as he attempted questions. In this way, Nabil did not need to make use of the whiteboard as he would correct his student on the exam paper itself. By doing this Nabil was able to get through an array of different questions, as a result of increased efficiency due to working directly beside his student. By overseeing his student’s work he was able to create a more serious atmosphere, and through this sense of urgency maintained a professional setting.

James Petrakis