Hey all, I had the opportunity to observe Demetria tutor her Year 10 Maths student, Harper. Together, they looked over financial maths today.

From the start, it was clear to me that Harper is definitely on the quieter side, but didn’t hesitate to ask Demetria as many questions as he needed as they went along.

For example, when using the simple interest formula, Harper asked over and over (until he was sure) what each letter represented, and Demetria happily reiterated what they meant until it was all super clear for him.

Demetria also did great to stop Harper whenever he was about to make a mistake that would encourage maladaptive habits in his working out. For example, Demetria made sure on numerous occasions to make sure Harper had his units for rate and time period in alignment (either in weeks, months or years) despite how the question offered them, to help him avoid making the same mistake later on.

In my experience, this a speedy and surefire way to nip problems in the bud before they gain momentum and ensure good practice going forward.

Demetria used the whiteboard to support her words with really clear visuals, using differnt colours for different annotations. Harper affirmed many of Demetria’s points with positive body language (nodding, quick note taking) and was clearly way faster and more confident in answering his assigned questions upon the lesson’s end.

Really great work, Demetria!!

Thomas Koutavas