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I observed Teoni’s session with her Year 10 student as they prepared for her upcoming exam.
Teoni effectively quizzed her student on various topics from the syllabus, carefully selecting questions to gauge the student’s understanding. Whenever she identified gaps in the student’s knowledge, she would provide additional questions to ensure she fully understood the content. This teaching approach not only reinforced the material but also demonstrated her own commitment to her student’s learning which was really awesome to see.

Throughout the session, Teoni maintained an encouraging and positive demeanor, which significantly boosted the student’s confidence. Her supportive attitude made it clear that she believed in her student’s capabilities and potential, creating a safe learning environment. Moreover, she dedicated time to share valuable exam tips, discussing strategies for tackling different types of questions that might come up during the exam. I plan to adopt a similar method when preparing my own students for their assessments, as I understand the importance of equipping them with practical skills for exam situations.

Teoni also emphasised the significance of working out problems for specific questions, showing her student how marks were allocated throughout a question. This insight helped the student understand the depth of response required for questions worth a chunk of marks. I found this particularly useful, as it showed the student how to create a structured response that an examiner can read and understand.

Additionally, I appreciated how Teoni built her student’s confidence by acknowledging the method they initially used to solve the problem, even if it was not entirely correct. She then demonstrated a more efficient technique which she ensured the student understood before moving on . Observing this session taught me valuable lessons about preparing students for exams and uplifting their spirits. Great job, Teoni!!!

Lily Powell

Since becoming a tutor, there are 3 key lessons I’ve learned that I would pass on to any future tutor.
1. The Importance of Preparation
When I first started, I was nervous before my first few tutoring sessions. Since then, I’ve found that preparation is essential to feeling confident about teaching a session, particularly with new students. Before each session, I plan out activities and review material to ensure the session time is used as productively as possible. However, preparation doesn’t mean planning out every single question because adaptability is equally important. Students may need more time working on one question or task, and as tutors, we need to be able to adapt our lesson plan accordingly.
2. Tutoring is a Continuous Learning Process
An important part of being a good tutor is learning alongside your students. Tutors have to consistently brush up on our knowledge and revisit subject areas from high school and even primary school. Continuous learning also includes learning new ways of teaching, such as new resources, tools, and methods. Also, it is important to learn from other tutors who may have more experience. I have received advice from friends who are experienced tutors, and I would highly recommend this, especially when starting out.
3. Encourage Independent Thinking
Finally, I’ve learned the importance of encouraging independent thinking. While it’s tempting to step in and provide answers, I’ve found that guiding students to think critically and work through problems on their own helps them develop essential skills and builds confidence. As tutors, our role isn’t to give students all the answers but rather, to help students become more self-sufficient and capable of solving problems independently. Sometimes this is a fine line, although observing other tutors is very helpful!
These are the 3 lessons I wish I had known when I was just starting out. Hopefully someone finds them useful!

Enya Rose

I had the honour of observing Grace’s session with her Year Twelve Business Studies student. She had a great connection with the student and made sure he felt comfortable asking her questions for greater clarification when he was unsure of the content or what was being asked of him. Grace explained the different areas of the syllabus and difficult content extremely well and spoke slowly so the student could write down what she was saying and understand better. She also made sure to ask him questions throughout the session to test his understanding and see if any areas needed further explanation which I thought was a really good idea. Overall a great session to observe!

Daisy Brenac