Reflecting on my Tutoring Experience - Building Positive Relationships

Tutoring has been an extremely rewarding and valuable job that has allowed me to develop many teaching and communicative skills over time, and has caused me to reflect on the different ways students learn. Throughout the years, I have come to understand just how unique each student is and how individual they are in their own strengths, challenges and learning preferences, and how we can accommodate for each of these differences. Overall, it makes being patient, flexible and supportive of students while working with them incredibly essential - and fostering an environment where they aren't ashamed to make mistakes, and are eager to ask questions, something of utmost importance. As I've tutored over the many years, it has become clear to me that effective tutoring does not solely involve explaining information. It involves building positive relationships, building rapport with students, listening carefully to them so that you create that environment that is comfortable enough where they can feel confident in asking you questions, so they can be open and honest about what they're struggling with. Without breaking down these initial barriers, students are often more hesitant to reveal what they may really need help with the most in what they're studying at the moment. I learned that students absolutely engage more with their learning when they feel respected, encouraged and understood, and as tutors, it is important that we strive to achieve this early on. Celebrating small achievements and providing constructive feedback that doesn't make students feel like they've failed will also help students develop this confidence and motivation, making progressing in their learning easier for everyone involved. I have also found it important to adapt different approaches for different students, to meet with their individual learning needs. While some students may understand concepts more quickly, others may require additional explanations, examples, or more opportunities to practice or repeat previously learnt content - as tutors, it is imperative that we pick up on these needs quickly and implement these strategies, so we can ensure students are learning at their maximum efficiency during their time at tutoring.