I had the great opportunity to observe Sophie’s year 12 Maths Advanced session with George. She did such a good job going through the homework questions her student had from school. He was able to go through each question, revising the relevant concepts and then apply them practically to the question. Each question was different and asked the student to identify different components, which meant he was able to ensure he throughly understood the topic. They then compared his homework questions to real HSC examples, so he was able to visually see how the questions were similar and how they differ.
Sophie gave him great guidance on how to start preparing for year 12 especially when his school term is coming to an end and often students get tired towards the end of term. She gave great advice to help motivate him.
She did such a great job using the large whiteboard to draw algebraic equations and other mathematical concepts and formulas clearly on the board. She would draw the formula on the board for him to clearly see. She would let him attempt the questions first . Then she would check his working out to make sure he was on the right track. When he had any errors in his working out she would write out the working out on the whiteboard which made it clear for him to understand and see where he went wrong. She would go through a range of different questions so he can see how to approach different questions that are asking you to find different variables.
Her student was a visual learner so it was great to see how she was able to cater towards his needs.
Her student often got distracted, so it was great to see the different strategies she used to help him get focused and then stay focused on answering mathematical questions.
She did a great job explaining difficult concepts to her student. She had a great balance helping to guide George and also letting him individually answer the questions.
Sophie would stand at the whiteboard and would go step by step through the working out. She would also give him hints so he could come to the answer himself rather than her just working it out in front of him.
Sophie is a very compassionate tutor who did such a great job and should be so proud of herself! Great session! Such a pleasure to observe. Keep it up!
Ashley Cohen
