First Education

Creating a good friendly relationship with your students is critical when it comes to tutoring. Simply if your student doesn’t like you then they are much less likely to learn from you. The relationship between student and tutor is a fine balance between friend and teacher but once this relationship has been created learning can happen more organically and the student will develop a want to learn.

This friendship allows the student to be much more comfortable with the tutor allowing them to ask questions without any fear or anxiety. This comfortability allows the student to also try harder questions sooner thus learning much faster and mush more effectively. This is one of many reasons why a friendly relaxed relationship is a priority in the first few tutoring sessions with a student.

Another reason why creating a relationship with the student is so important is that it fosters a love of learning as the student becomes excited to attend each session. Rather than learning being associated with a negative, learning becomes a positive experience allowing students to further develop their skills and grow as a student.

Olivia Moustakis

It is important that students are given an engaging tutoring lession. This can lead to academic growth and a great connection between a student and their tutor. This is important as we want our students to leave the lesson on a positive note.
Adapting a lesson to a student’s interests and learning style makes a big difference. This can be through personalising the learning experience by using real-life examples related to their interests and hobbies. This can build a connection between the tutor and their student. Further, the student is more likely to engage when they are comfortable with their tutor. This can lead to academic growth and success, as well as effective tutoring sessions.
Interactive learning can be beneficial for some students. This can be through whiteboards and flashcards, as well as encouraging a discussion opposed to just giving answers. Discussions encourage the student to engage with their learning material, as well as the tutor. Adding on to this, a standing whiteboard can be great in incorporating movement especially for younger students. It is vital that students are engaged in their lesson – they will want to leave knowing they achieved something, and are happy with the session and willing to continue learning and expanding on their academic knowledge.
It is important that goals are set and tracked throughout the lessons. This can be through setting small, achievable goals, and using a reward system (such as stickers or prizes) as they continue to learn. Reflection is a good way to end the session. This can be through asking the student’s questions such as ‘what have you learnt today?’ and even having the student ‘teach’ the concept back to the tutor.

Tamiah Mahoney

Homework plays a crucial role in tutoring as it reinforces the concepts and skills taught during sessions. It provides students with the opportunity to practice and apply what they’ve learned, which enhances retention and understanding. In a tutoring setting, homework allows tutors to assess the progress of their students and identify areas that need further attention. This personalized feedback helps to tailor future lessons to meet the specific needs of each student.

One of the key benefits of homework in tutoring is that it encourages independent learning. It challenges students to work through problems on their own, fostering problem-solving skills and self-confidence. As students face difficulties while completing homework, they learn how to seek out solutions and think critically. Tutors can guide this process by providing strategies to overcome challenges, but the work itself allows students to grow as independent learners.

Furthermore, homework offers a bridge between sessions, helping students to maintain a consistent study routine. This continuity ensures that learning doesn’t stop once the tutoring session ends, helping students retain information over time. By completing homework regularly, students develop strong study habits and time management skills that can benefit them in other areas of their academic journey.

Homework also plays a crucial role in helping tutors identify areas of misunderstanding or confusion. It provides an opportunity for tutors to adjust their teaching methods or revisit certain topics. Additionally, when students complete assignments, it often becomes evident which areas require more focused attention, enabling the tutor to make the most of their time in subsequent sessions.

Olivia Moustakis

One of the most effective strategies in tutoring is the use of questioning. Rather than simply providing answers, guiding students through well-structured questions encourages deeper thinking, strengthens problem-solving skills, and fosters independence. A tutor’s ability to ask the right questions at the right time can transform a lesson from passive learning into an engaging and thought-provoking experience.

Effective questioning encourages students to think critically rather than memorise information. Open-ended questions, such as “Why do you think that?” or “How would you approach this differently?” prompt students to explain their reasoning and make connections between concepts. This helps them develop a more thorough understanding of the subject, rather than relying on rote learning.

Another powerful questioning technique is the Socratic method, where tutors ask a series of guided questions to help students arrive at answers themselves. Instead of telling a student where they went wrong in a maths problem, a tutor might ask, “What do you notice about this step?” or “How does this compare to the method we used earlier?” This approach not only reinforces learning but also boosts confidence as students realise they are capable of solving problems with guidance.

Questioning also helps tutors assess understanding in real time. By asking students to explain concepts in their own words or justify their answers, tutors can quickly identify gaps in knowledge and adjust their teaching accordingly. This ensures that misconceptions are addressed before they become entrenched.

Ultimately, questioning is a tool that encourages active engagement and independent thinking. By shifting the focus from simply giving information to guiding discovery, tutors empower students to take ownership of their learning, preparing them to approach challenges with curiosity and confidence.

Demetria

I recently had the opportunity to observe Olivia during a tutoring session focused on creative writing. The main topic of the session was sensory imagery, a technique that brings writing to life by engaging the five senses—sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch.

Olivia guided her student through the concept thoughtfully, encouraging him to think beyond basic descriptions and explore how sensory details can create a more immersive experience for the reader. Rather than simply explaining the technique, she made the session highly interactive. She asked thought-provoking questions, prompting the student to reflect on how different sensory elements could enhance his writing. Through engaging exercises, he experimented with incorporating sensory details into his own work, gradually gaining confidence in his ability to craft more vivid and expressive descriptions.

What stood out most was Olivia’s ability to make the session feel dynamic and enjoyable. She provided constructive feedback in a supportive manner, helping the student refine his ideas while maintaining his enthusiasm for the creative process. By making the session hands-on and encouraging him to view writing as a form of self-expression rather than just a school assignment, she fostered a deeper appreciation for storytelling. It was inspiring to see how her approach not only strengthened the student’s writing skills but also nurtured his creativity, making the learning experience both meaningful and enjoyable.

Joseph Taouk

Studying can often be difficult, mentally taxing, and requires a lot of focus and concentration. That’s why, especially in the leadup to exams such as the HSC or school end-of-year exams, it is vital to have a suitable study space, to foster the efficiency of a student’s time spent on their work. In study spaces that are noisy, full of distractions, or not motivating, concentration is ultimately drawn away from the work, which is much less likely to be completed.

Some key ways for students to ensure that they are studying in a suitable environment is to consider the following factors:

Keeping away distractions. Make sure that key distractions – especially phones – are left far away from the study space, minimising their ability to distract the student. Having a phone within reach greatly increases the temptation to simply procrastinate with social media or mobile games, but this is minimised if the phone is put far away. Out of sight, out of mind!

Choosing a quiet location. Loud, busy areas can be incredibly distracting and often lead to interruptions, breaking focus and concentration. If a student’s home is busy and loud, a library is often a good alternative. They may choose to study in their local library, or bigger libraries such as NSW State Library or a number of different University Libraries.

Ensuring good lighting. Poor lighting can lead to eye strain and headaches, whereas good lighting improves concentration. In particular, students should make sure that when they are using their laptops, they have suitable light to diffuse the blue light from the laptop, which can cause eye damage and impair sleeping on its own.

Having comfortable seating. Having a proper chair and table that allows the student to work with good posture and comfort minimises back and neck pain in the long term. This is especially important in periods of high studying, such as in the lead-up to the HSC, in which back and neck pain can easily arise.

Ceara Kearnes

Observing the tutoring session of one of my fellow tutors and a primary school student gave me insight into a productive way to provide guidance for creative writing. Observing a younger student was interesting as the tutor needed to alternate between a few different methods of teaching to ensure engagement continued throughout the session. Beginning the session by outlining a plan of what they wanted to accomplish, the tutor was able to establish goals for the hour, thus giving his student something to work towards.

Beginning with an activity to help plan the narrative, they used paper to write down different ideas for each part of the story, brainstorming back and forth to reach their final idea. By giving his student a few ideas, the tutor was able to effectively prompt him to think creatively and reach the final idea on his own, whilst still helping him along the way. This was helpful for me to see how to foster a positive sense of support while ensuring the student is able to work individually as well, increasing confidence as a result.

A technique used when structuring the plot of the story was to use a different piece of paper for each section, thus providing the student with a clear visual outline of what the narrative was going to look like. By letting his student lead the planning of the plot, he was able to help him build and expand his initial ideas, allowing the plot to become stronger. This technique also ensured interaction between the tutor and the student, engaging his interest in his learning. By pausing the session to take a break and play a game, the tutor was able to make sure they weren’t focused for too long, allowing the student to take a rest and have some fun.

Overall, observing a session with a younger student was very helpful to see an example of how to run a creative writing activity with a younger student. The tutor’s use of interactive activities and a game ensured focus and engagement throughout the entirety of the session, making sure they were productive and also enjoyed the hour. I will definitely be applying some of these strategies in my own tutoring lessons, thank you!

Annabelle Molloy

One of the most difficult parts about tests, in maths specifically, is knowing what a question requires of you. In a classroom, you work through one piece of content at a time, master it, and move on. You know all the exercises from a chapter are going to be asking you about a similar topic and all you need to do is work out how to apply it. Of course, this is a crucial way to learn this specific content, however, this methodology can limit individuals when it comes to a test. This is because each question will come from different content areas. As a result, student often don’t know where to start.
To try to improve this, I have been asking students questions that they have learnt in previous terms randomly throughout sessions to help them practice their recall of various topics.Something that I have been working on improving recently is to allow the students to attempt the question on their own as far as they can, even if they start off wrong to see if they can correct themselves and to understand their way of thinking. I have found that this will help students to feel more confident in a test when they don’t have someone to guide them when they go wrong.

Riva Burkett

Extended Response questions in HSC Physics are known for being hard to tackle. Unlike calculation questions, or short answer questions, an 8 or 9 marker in physics often intimidating and confusing for students. What markers are looking for isn’t grandiose, flowery language, essay-like structure or even coherent sentences. They want to see that you know what you’re talking about, and if you can convey that you understand the content, then you get the marks. This can be in the form of annotated diagrams, drawings, mathematical notation, and calculations. Lets look at the following question:

“Many scientists have performed experiments to explore the interaction of light and matter. Analyse how evidence from at least THREE such experiments has contributed to our understanding of physics.”

Here, the first step must be to break down the question into its essentials: Analyse, evidence, interaction of light and matter, THREE EXPERIMENTS, our understanding of physics. We should then briefly jot down a plan so we can organise our response, as there are marks allocated for coherence and conciseness. There’s no need for an introduction — here, we can get straight to grabbing marks. We can break up our answer into 3 experiments, stating the name and person responsible for the experiment, the evidence that it provides, how it involves interaction between matter and light, and how it impacted our understanding of physics. Here is a sample response below:

Step 1: Experiment 1 (Photoelectric Effect – Einstein)
– Evidence: Explain the experiment briefly.

– Interaction: Discuss photons and electrons.

– Understanding: Highlight how it demonstrated particle-like properties of light, leading to quantum theory.

Step 2: Experiment 2 (Double-Slit Experiment – Young)
– Evidence: Summarize setup and observations.

– Interaction: Discuss interference and diffraction.

– Understanding: Emphasize how this revealed wave-like properties of light.

Step 3: Experiment 3 (Spectral Lines – Bohr Model)
– Evidence: Briefly describe emission spectra experiments.

– Interaction: Discuss electrons transitioning between energy levels.

– Understanding: Outline how this clarified atomic structure and quantization.

Step 4: Conclusion (Brief and Clear)
– Concisely summarize how these experiments collectively deepened the scientific understanding of light and matter.

Parham Sepasgozar

Misha, the tutor, and Ingrid, the student, are working through advanced mathematics. They are tacklinging complex, multifaceted, and multi-marked questions, investigating the properties of maths. Specifically, they are exploring the properties of functions as they approach a point, or infinity, the domains and codomains of functions, and also exploring trigonometric functions.

Misha is highly confident, helping Ingrid understand the solutions required when solving problems, breaking complex, and initially daunting questions into understandable, comprehensive steps. He is clearly a passionate tutor, genuinely invested in Ingrid’s learning and helping her do her utmost best. Misha is patient, teaching thoroughly and carefully, whilst still maintaining an appropriate pace.

Ingrid is a highly inquisitive student, not afraid to ask questions about her issues. Their session is dynamic, working back and forwards as the tutor provides solutions to the plethora of Ingrid’s questions. She’s a quick learner – able to pick up the content quickly and apply it into new areas, overall, it is a highly productive session.

As I observe the session I’m reminded of the foundations of mathematics, and its integrity to the progression of more difficult maths. If not for the core principles of maths you learn in primary and secondary school, as well as HSC, one is unable to develop their understanding further. This is what makes tutoring so beneficial. It is quite common in a classroom for a topic to be rushed over, skimmed over amidst the rampant need to finish a quota amount of content, which often causes students to be left confused. Then, once further topics are reached in the classroom, the student is in a perpetual state of misunderstanding as the core principles were not properly explained. Tutoring fixes this issue – allowing the student to ask the essential questions about the core principles, aiding their understanding in the entire subject.

Oliver Fletcher