Hey everyone! Today, I had the opportunity to observe Kassandra tutor her Year 10 maths student. Throughout the session, her use of visual diagrams on the whiteboard and written working out assisted her student in understanding complex mathematical concepts, including trigonometry and algebra. There was a big focus on angles of elevation and depression, as well as bearings, with the goal of her student being able to independently draw out worded questions. Kassandra provided her student with helpful revision worksheets and practice questions from multiple textbooks, which enabled her student to answer a wide range of different-styled questions.

After some revision, Kassandra asked her student to specify which other areas she had confusion with, thus allowing her to gather the relevant resources and work through sample questions collaboratively. Her clear voice when explaining important working out supported her student towards better understanding. Here, I also learnt the importance of displaying working out in different coloured markers for enhanced student comprehension.

As a result, her student was able to maintain her focus throughout the session. I saw this as a positive sign of engagement and an eagerness to learn (e.g. how to complete difficult questions), which was established through Kassandra’s encouraging tone and comfortable nature. Something that I loved about her teaching approach was that she provided her student enough time to work through the questions, rather than simply giving the answer. Kassandra also knew when to provide assistance to her student, obviously when required. By adopting these practices, as tutors, we are allowing our students to make mistakes along the way — which in unpopular opinion, is actually good — emphasising a need for constant learning and development. That’s what we are here for… to support our students in improving their understanding and addressing their individual needs, through the use of tailored resources.

Kaelyn Tan