Observation

Due to a cancellation I observed Connor working with Stella during her first math lesson since beginning her final year of high school. Connor gave her time to work through questions independently and only stepped in when she became unsure, which made it easier to see how she was approaching the problems herself.

When Stella got stuck, Connor usually responded with a smaller guiding question rather than immediately giving her the next step. This kept her involved in the problem solving process and helped her work towards the answer on her own. He also made a point of checking that she understood why a method worked rather than simply moving on once she reached the correct answer.

I noticed that Connor placed a fair amount of emphasis on clear working and making sure each step followed logically from the last. When there was an error, he would go back through the working with Stella and help her identify where things had gone wrong rather than just correcting the final answer.

Overall, Connor created a calm lesson where Stella was given enough independence to attempt the maths herself while still receiving support when she needed it. His questioning and explanations helped keep her engaged with the process rather than relying on him to complete the harder parts for her.