First Education

In an age where laptops and tablets dominate study spaces, handwriting notes can seem old-fashioned, maybe even inefficient. Yet a growing body of cognitive and educational research suggests that handwriting remains one of the best tools for learning – because it fundamentally changes how your brain processes information.

Typing encourages speed and transcription. When we type, our hands often move faster than our ability to analyse what we’re hearing or reading. This promotes a kind of “shallow capture,” where words get recorded but not necessarily understood. Handwriting, on the other hand, slows everything down just enough. Because you physically can’t write every word, your brain is pushed to summarise, reorganise, and prioritise information in real time. These small decisions strengthen encoding and create more meaningful memory traces.

There’s also something to be said about the multisensory nature of handwriting. The feel of the pen, the motion of forming shapes, the spacing on the page – all of these cues contribute to recall. Researchers call this “motoric encoding,” and it’s one reason why students often remember where on the page a particular idea was written, even months later.

This isn’t to say digital notes are useless; they’re unbeatable for storing large volumes of material and organising complex information. But when the goal is deep comprehension or long-term retention, handwriting quietly outperforms the sleekest apps.

Ultimately, handwriting isn’t outdated – it’s underrated. And in a world where attention is scarce and information is overwhelming, sometimes the simplest tools still work best.

Oliver Fletcher

Punctuality may seem like a small detail, but at tutoring centres like First Education, it plays a crucial role in creating a supportive and effective learning environment for both students and tutors. Unlike a traditional classroom, tutoring sessions are often shorter, more personalised and carefully planned; meaning every minute truly counts.

For students, arriving on time ensures they can make full use of their session. Tutoring is designed to offer targeted support and being punctual allows students to settle in, ask questions, and follow the planned learning sequence without feeling rushed. One-on-one tutoring is designed to meet individual needs with tutors explaining concepts at the student’s pace and creating a space for questions, and practice. Arriving late cuts into this time and often leads to a rushed or unsettled start. Over time, being punctual strengthens students’ organisational skills and builds their sense of accountability. These important habits can extend into schoolwork, extracurricular activities and future workplaces.

For tutors, punctuality communicates professionalism and genuine care for the student’s learning. Being ready at the scheduled time allows tutors to set up materials, review previous work and begin the session with confidence, and structure. When tutors are consistently punctual, students feel respected and supported, which strengthens the relationship and increases engagement. A reliable tutor also helps parents feel reassured that their child’s learning is in safe, reliable hands.

On a broader level, punctuality strengthens the centre’s sense of community. When both tutors and students respect session times, schedules run efficiently, waiting areas stay calm, and transitions between sessions are seamless. This creates a positive learning atmosphere where everyone benefits. At First Education, punctuality is more than just being on time; it is a shared commitment to learning. By valuing every minute, both students and tutors contribute to a culture of respect, growth and academic success.

Kaelyn Tan

In a world where almost everything is typed, tapped or digitally recorded, handwriting can feel old fashioned. Many students assume typing is faster, more efficient and therefore better for study. But surprisingly, handwriting engages the brain in a completely different and often more powerful way.

When we write by hand, your brain activates a network of motor pathways responsible for movement, spatial awareness and memory encoding. Each letter you form requires attention, coordination and physical effort. This slows you down, but in a beneficial way, it forces you to think, process and understand information before it hits the page.

Typing, by contrast, encourages speed. Most students type so quickly that they become scribes rather than thinkers, capturing words without truly absorbing the meaning behind them. Studies have shown that students who write notes by hand remember material more deeply than those who type, even when the typed notes contain more information.

For tutors, encouraging students to use handwriting, even occasionally can transform the way they learn. Writing out exam responses, drawing mind maps or summarising a topic on paper helps strengthen neural connections. The physical act of forming shapes and symbols makes the content “stick” in the brain in a way that tapping keys simply doesn’t.

Handwriting also supports creativity. The freedom to draw arrows, diagrams, doodles and margin notes helps students personalise information. This visual, tactile interaction with the content makes revision feel more intuitive and less rigid. Students often report that handwritten notes feel more “alive”, as though the ideas belong to them rather than to a screen.

Of course, typing still has its place. But a blended approach, using digital tools for organisation and handwriting for deeper thinking can offer the best of both worlds.

So next time a student feels stuck, overwhelmed or unsure where to begin, the simplest advice might be this, pick up a pen. Because in the quiet, deliberate movement of handwriting, the brain finds clarity, focus and understanding that no keyboard shortcut can replicate.

Isabella Naumovski

In today’s fast-paced education system, many students feel overwhelmed by the pressure to perform, the pace of classroom teaching, and the challenge of balancing schoolwork with personal commitments. As a tutor, I’ve seen firsthand how consistent, personalised support can transform a student’s confidence, skills, and long-term academic outcomes. Tutoring is no longer just about “helping with homework”—it’s about equipping students with the mindset and strategies they need to become independent, capable learners.

One of the greatest advantages of tutoring is the opportunity for targeted, individualised instruction. In a typical classroom, teachers do their best to meet the needs of every learner, but it’s not always possible to slow down, revisit a concept several times, or provide one-on-one feedback for every student. Tutoring fills this gap. By identifying misunderstood concepts early and explaining them in accessible, student-friendly ways, tutors help build a strong foundation that prevents frustration later on. This personalised attention also allows students to ask questions freely, without the fear of judgement or falling behind.

Another powerful aspect of tutoring is the development of essential study habits. Students often struggle not because they lack intelligence, but because they haven’t yet mastered effective strategies such as planning assessments, breaking down complex tasks, revising consistently, or writing with clarity and structure. Through regular sessions, tutors guide students in building these habits, turning what once felt difficult or overwhelming into manageable, repeatable steps.

Perhaps the most rewarding part of tutoring, however, is witnessing the growth in a student’s confidence. When students start to understand their strengths, recognise their improvement, and feel supported, their motivation naturally rises. Success becomes something within reach—not just academically, but personally.

Ultimately, high-quality tutoring is about empowering students. It nurtures curiosity, strengthens resilience, and helps young people discover their potential both inside and outside the classroom. And when learning feels meaningful and achievable, everything else begins to fall into place.

Carmen Yuen

For years, students have been told that the best way to study is to find a silent room, sit still and “focus”. But what if complete silence isn’t the ideal learning environment after all? Surprisingly, a bit of background noice, done the right way can actually boost concentration, creativity and information retention.

Researchers studying cognitive performance have found that moderate ambient noise, such as a café chatter or soft environmental sounds, can stimulate the brain just enough to keep it alert. Too much silence can sometimes have the opposite effect, allowing the mind to wander or become sleepy, especially during long revision sessions.

This idea challenges the traditional image of studying. A student working in a quiet library might assume they’re being productive simply because the environment looks studious. But a gentle hum of background sound can create what psychologists call “low level distractions”, which nudges the brain into a more alert, engaged state. It works a bit like standing on one leg, your body has to stay slightly active to maintain balance.

For tutors, introducing this concept can be surprisingly helpful. Encouraging students to test different learning environments, such as soft café sounds, rainfall audio or instrumental music, can help them discover what keeps their mind energised. It becomes a form of self discovery, what does your brain respond to best? What environment keeps you awake, curious and mentally active?

Of course, this isn’t about blasting pop music or working in a noisy room. It’s about finding that sweet balance where a steady, gentle background sound provides just enough stimulation without overwhelming the senses. When students strike that balance, revision can feel less rigid and more natural.

Instead of forcing silence, students can shape a study environment that supports their concentration style. Sometimes, the secret to sharper focus isn’t a quieter room, it’s the soft, comforting sound of a rainy afternoon or the distant clinking of coffee cups.

Isabella Naumovski

The end of the year is always an exciting time, particularly for students who excitedly wait for Christmas and the holidays to come around, but it is also a time when students begin to lack motivation and when the exhaustion of the year sets in. Making the lessons memorable and exciting is crucial in this period, especially when effort in the sessions and homework gradually becomes minimal. Before hosting a termly meeting at the Earlwood centre, I thought long and hard about how we as tutors could bring excitement into the session while prioritising the academic challenges our students face. I thought about all of the times I had seen memes and funny videos, and pictures online describing the content I had learnt at university and comparing it to real-life scenarios, which had helped me to remember the content I had struggled with even after my exams. Then I began to consider how many students use the media and technology and how they typically talk about what’s trending online in our sessions. I started to get creative and considered making numerous memes that included characters like Batman or commonly seen memes on the internet to remind students of concepts they had struggled with throughout the year by writing the reminders on the memes/pictures. I presented this idea at the meeting and hoped for more suggestions, and the magnificent group of tutors at Earlwood suggested many ideas, such as coming up with a rap they could work on with their student, creating an essay soup with the essay components as the ingredients, rhyming, and funny acronyms. These ideas came from tutors who teach an array of subjects and can apply to any subject. Overall, creativity is proven crucial to ensuring student engagement, especially with the end of the year approaching and fatigue being high.

Marina Nouris

Big tasks can feel intimidating for students, especially when they are juggling multiple subjects and deadlines. Whether it is a research assignment, a creative project or a block of exam revision, the size of the task often feels harder than the task itself. The good news is that overwhelm can be reduced by learning how to break work into smaller, manageable steps that make progress feel achievable.

The first step is to understand the task clearly. Students often feel stressed because they are unsure where to begin. Reading instructions carefully, highlighting key requirements and identifying the final outcome helps create certainty. Once the goal is clear, it becomes easier to map out the actions needed to reach it.

Next, the task should be divided into logical parts. A history assignment, for example, can be separated into research, note-taking, paragraph planning and writing. Exam preparation can be split into topics, question types and practice sessions. Each part becomes a smaller task that feels less overwhelming than facing the entire thing at once.

Timing also matters. Setting short, focused work sessions helps students make steady progress without feeling drained. Even fifteen to twenty minutes of focused effort can move a project forward. When students experience small wins regularly, motivation increases and the task feels more manageable.

It is also important to prioritise. Not every step requires the same amount of time or energy. Students should tackle the most challenging or important part first while their mind is fresh. This builds momentum and reduces the temptation to procrastinate.

Finally, checking off each completed step provides a sense of progress. Visual reminders such as lists or calendars help students see how far they have come and what remains. This reduces stress and builds confidence.

Large tasks lose their power when broken into smaller steps. With clear planning and steady effort, students can replace overwhelm with control and complete their work with confidence.

Freddie Le Vay

A signifcant principle in learning and development, Inclusive Edcuation (IE), recognises the interplay of social experience and cultural background in the sahping of learner’s unique strengths and limaitions. Drawing on inclusive practcies in the classroom shifts the foucs from this limited, discriminative idea of ‘ability’ and rather a braoder understanding of student development and education. This is of great importance, specifically as many students seek tutoring because they have felt ignored or misundertsood in traditional classroom enviornments, not only for academic assistance. An inclusive tutor is someone who makes effort to observe and note these barriers while actively acting to progressively remove them.

One of the most critical aspects fo inclusive education is the atmoshpere that is created, with students often learning better in an enviornment where they feel safe and comfortable to answer questions, make mistakes and reattempt difficult concepts without any hate or judgement. An educator who understands this prioritises explicit instruction as a powerful strategy to faciliate the develpment of a strong tutor-student relationship while still establishing clear learning goals. This is especially benficial to students with additional elarning needs, who often suffer from anxiety and confidence issues.

Inlcusive approahces are additionally useful in improving the quality of instruction itself as rather than treating tutoring as a one-size fits all approach, educators who undertsand and prioritise inclusion alternate their methods. Whether this be rotating between guided practice, verbal explanation/discussion or visuals, learners specific needs are not only suppported but there undertsanding of the taught concepts is strengthened. By embracing diveristy and adapting instructuon accordingly, educators can assist students to develop independence, grow their confidence and feel a snese of belonging.

Katerina Vrahnos

As a tutor, I’ve noticed a recurring pattern. Bright, curious students especially around Year 7 suddenly hit a wall with mathematics. They start to pull back, and before long, the familiar line appears: “I’m just bad at math.” But most of the time, the issue isn’t the student. It’s the widening gap between how the syllabus teaches math and how young minds actually learn.

The curriculum, in its pursuit of academic rigor, often pushes students into abstraction too early. Take algebra, for instance. The syllabus might jump straight to equations like 2x+5=15. For a 12-year-old, that random letter ‘x’ feels foreign a symbol with no story, no emotional or logical hook. They’re told to follow steps and manipulate symbols they don’t yet understand, and when it doesn’t make sense, they assume it’s because they aren’t good at it. But really, it’s a failure to connect the concept to something that feels real.

So, what if we flipped it? What if, before introducing the letter ‘x’, we started with a story something tangible? “I’ve got two identical mystery bags of lollies. My friend gives me five more, and now I’ve got fifteen in total. How many lollies are in each bag?” Every student can relate to that. They can reason it out: “Before the five extras, there were ten. Two identical bags, so five in each.” Then comes the magic moment: “You just did algebra. That mystery bag? That’s what we call ‘x’.”

Now the abstract symbol has meaning. It’s not some random rule it’s a language for describing something they already understand. The syllabus too often presents math as a finished product tidy, polished, and disconnected. Our job as educators is to reverse-engineer it. Start with the real, the concrete, the intuitive. When students can see math as a way to make sense of their world, they stop fearing it and start owning it.

Edward

Marina worked on multiplication practice with her Year 6 student, ensuring they had opportunities to revise strategies and apply them to a range of problems. After completing the maths component, they continued with English, focusing on persuasive writing. Marina broke down the planning steps clearly and modelled how to draft the text, guiding the student through organising ideas and strengthening their arguments. She thoroughly explained the structure of effective persuasive paragraphs and discussed the importance of using more complex vocabulary to enhance the writing. Throughout the drafting process, Marina also addressed spelling, as the student made a few errors. She reviewed and corrected these words carefully, using each mistake as an additional practice opportunity. This approach helped reinforce accuracy while supporting the student’s overall writing development.

Razan Rustom