Today, my student Hudson didn’t show up, which gave me time to reflect on my experience tutoring so far and how I want to improve and further my tutoring skill set.

Through my past experience of tutoring externally I have definitely learnt a lot and adapted my teaching techniques. This includes understanding that attention span varies from person to person so making sure to keep them engaged and having fun is critical to their learning process. Additionally, I have learnt that tutoring distinctly relies on building up each individual’s confidence with each topic and area that we cover. For example, using encouraging and reinforcing dialogue such as “Well done!” or “Fantastic job!” makes a great difference on the students willingness to continue learning and positive attitude towards each new challenge. I have found that my students often know the answer or understand how to find the answer to a question but just need a final little push by supporting them to take these given steps.

During my time at First Education, as I am still quite new, I have had two students so far who have both worked consistently with positive attitudes to attempt to correctly fulfil their work. If my students don’t understand or answer correctly on the first try I feel this is the most critical time to be encouraging as saying “You’ve got this!” or explain it in a different way could mean the difference in them giving up on themselves or building up their confidence. The initial observation lessons I completed prior to my first lesson were all immensely helpful to me understanding and applying the positive and friendly element of this learning environment.

At the end of the day, I have found that supporting and genuinely caring about my students’ school career is the most effective way to get them to feel motivated by their own education journey.

Rhianna Mendes