First Education

Using AI in tutoring sessions can be beneficial to the student but also comes with limitations.

It’s important for students and tutors to understand the benefit of using AI to further a students knowledge and application of theory so they can apply it practically. However, it’s important for them to understand the risks associated so that they don’t just rely on using AI instead of using their brains.

AI can enhance tutoring by providing instant explanations, examples, and feedback. It can give students exam styles questions and ca mark their responses and grade their response, giving them one in one personalised feedback. If a student is stuck on a math problem, AI can break down the steps clearly and patiently and ca explain each step of the solution in detail. AI can also personalize instruction by adjusting explanations to a student’s level, learning style, or pace. AI can also provide summaries of topics and quizzes.

However, there are issues with students relying too heavily on AI. AI cannot understand a student’s emotions, frustrations, or persona learning challenges. Whereas, a tutor can offer a personalised teaching environment, where they can cater to the needs of each student. They can see their students body language and signs of confusion, distraction boredom, or anxiety and they can adjust their teaching approaches accordingly, which AI cannot do. AI also risks giving oversimplified explanations and can give incorrect answers. In writing and critical-thinking tasks, students may rely on AI to provide them answers to school homework questions rather than thinking for themselves. This takes away a key part of learning. This can mean students, excessively use AI which can create dependency. Students may turn to AI to answer all their problems and to create all the solutions rather than learning critical thinking skills and developing problem-solving skills.

Overall, AI can offer many benefits to tutoring, however it also has many limitations and risks that need to be considered to prevent students from relying on it.

Ashley Cohen

Tutoring is more than academic support, it’s inspirational and motivational. Tutoring says “you are capable of understanding this,” even when a student doubts themselves. In addition, tutoring creates a space for safety, confidence, patience and real learning.

What makes tutoring impactful is its quite nature. Unlike busy classrooms and an overwhelming environment, tutoring allows the close connection of a tutor and student to really go in depth of understanding concepts and building confidence. Tutoring adapts to the individual, how they think and how they struggle and what motivates them. Also, a goof tutor does not just explain answers, they build confidence, resilience and independence.

Beyond grades, tutoring also shapes a student’s mindset and teaches them how to face challenges, persist in times of confusion and celebrate progress and achievements.

Razan Rustom

The transition from Year 11 to Year 12 is often framed as a daunting leap, but in reality, it is the most critical period for strategic consolidation. As the preliminary course wraps up, students aren’t just finishing a grade; they are laying the bedrock for their final credential. The “Year 11 Prep for Year 12” mindset is what separates consistent achievers from those who find themselves scrambling come February.

The Foundation of Success

Success in Year 12 is rarely about raw intelligence; it is about systems. During the final months of Year 11, students should focus on refining three core pillars:

Syllabus Mapping: Year 12 content often builds directly upon Year 11 concepts. Whether it’s mastering the nuances of algebra for extension math or perfecting the “TEEL” structure in English, identifying gaps now prevents a “snowball effect” of confusion later.

Resource Curation: This is the time to organize notes, past papers, and exemplar responses. A clean, digital or physical filing system reduces the cognitive load when the workload intensifies.

Metacognition: Students should reflect on how they learned best this year. Was it through active recall, timed practice, or collaborative discussion? Identifying these patterns now allows for a tailored study plan from Day 1 of Year 12.

Shifting the Mindset

The jump to Year 12 requires a shift from passive absorption to active mastery. It is no longer enough to understand a topic; one must be able to apply it under exam conditions. We encourage students to treat the upcoming “break” not just as a rest, but as a “pre-season.” By staying engaged with core texts or complex formulas for even an hour a week, the academic momentum remains high.

The goal isn’t to burn out before the year begins, but to step into the final year with the confidence that the foundation is already set.

Anthea Preketes

Academic struggles often begin with something small such as an overlooked concept, a missed lesson, or a moment of confusion that never quite gets resolved. Over time, these small gaps can build into something much bigger. This is what we often call the snowball effect.

In many classes, learning is structured in a cumulative way. Skills introduced early are expected to be mastered and then built upon in later topics. For example, a student who doesn’t fully grasp basic fractions in primary school may find algebra increasingly difficult in high school. The same applies to reading comprehension and essay writing, and if foundational skills aren’t solid, each new task becomes more challenging than the last.

A key and common example of the snowball effect happens with the times tables. Students who do not adequately grasp their times tables in primary school find basic algebraic simplification and manipulations more difficult than they should be in the early years of high school.

The problem is that these gaps in knowledge are often invisible at first. A student might still be passing, even performing reasonably well, by memorising steps or relying on short-term study strategies. But as they move into harder years or move from primary to high school, the workload increases and concepts become more complex, those early misunderstandings start to surface.

Addressing the snowball effect requires more than just keeping up with current homework. It means identifying and filling in those foundational gaps before they compound further. In tutoring, rather than pushing students ahead, effective tutoring takes a step back, diagnoses the root of the problem, and rebuilds understanding from the ground up.
Importantly, early intervention is key. The sooner a gap is identified, the easier it is to correct. What might take a few focused sessions now could otherwise require months of remediation later.

At its core, learning isn’t about rushing through content, it’s about building a strong, connected foundation. When students truly understand the basics, they’re far better equipped to handle the challenges ahead with confidence.

Ceara Kearnes

When it comes to picking your HSC subjects, one of the biggest decisions is whether to go for Advanced or stick with Standard. A lot of students lean towards Standard because it feels safer, but choosing Advanced Maths or English can actually be more worth it in the long run if you’re willing to put in the effort.

One of the main reasons is scaling. Advanced subjects tend to scale better than Standard ones. That means your marks can be adjusted more favourably when your ATAR is calculated. Even if you don’t get perfect marks, doing reasonably well in Advanced can often benefit you more than getting very high marks in Standard. It’s not just about how well you do, it’s also about the level of challenge in the course.

Advanced courses also prepare you better for Year 12 and beyond. The skills you build in Advanced English, like analysing texts and writing strong arguments, are much closer to what you’ll need for university. The same goes for Advanced Maths, which develops problem solving and critical thinking skills that carry over into a lot of different degrees.

There’s also the mindset shift. Choosing Advanced pushes you to step up. It encourages better study habits, more discipline and a deeper understanding of content. You’re not just memorising, you’re learning how to think.

That said, Advanced isn’t for everyone. If a subject is going to cause constant stress or you’re completely lost, then Standard might be the better option. But if you’re sitting on the fence and you’re capable, it’s usually worth challenging yourself.

At the end of the day, it’s about playing smart. Advanced subjects can give you an edge with scaling, build stronger skills and set you up better for the future. If you’re willing to put in the work, it can really pay off.

Eireyna Papinyan

A strategy I use in my maths tutoring is instead of pointing out the answer straight away, I will make a student go through their working in order to figure out their mistake.

When a student gets something wrong, I will never tell them the answer straight away. I will point out that they have done something wrong, but get them to step me through their work in order to ensure they understand where they went wrong. This not only helps me see exactly where things went off but also helps them think more about the process which is very important when attempting similar questions.

Once we figure out where the mistake happened, we go back and talk about why it didn’t work. I’ll guide them, but I try not to jump in too quickly as I want them to be the one who fixes it. Then I’ll give them a really similar question straight after to see if they can apply it properly on their own. If they can, it shows the concept has actually clicked.

I’ve found this works really well because it changes their mindset. They stop getting stressed about being wrong and start seeing mistakes as something helpful. It also builds their confidence because they realise they can work things out themselves.

Over time, they become a lot more independent and careful with their working and their overall understanding improves a lot too.

Annaliese Lakis

In a one-hour tutoring session, it is common for student concentration to decline after the first 30 minutes due to mental fatigue. The inclusion of a scheduled snack break midway through the session is therefore a valuable practice that supports sustained engagement and learning.

The brain requires a consistent supply of energy to function effectively. By providing a snack at this point, students are able to replenish glucose levels, which can improve focus, memory, and overall cognitive performance. This helps maintain the quality of participation throughout the remainder of the session.

Additionally, the snack break functions as a structured pause, allowing students to briefly disengage before returning to their work. This division of the session into two segments can enhance productivity by making tasks feel more manageable and reducing cognitive overload.

The break also contributes to a more positive learning environment. Students who are less fatigued and more comfortable are better able to approach challenging material with persistence and confidence.

Overall, our mid-session snack is an effective strategy that supports attention, wellbeing, and improved academic outcomes within tutoring sessions.

Sophie McGrath

A study strategy I consistently use with my students is active recall combined making sure I promote repetition, as it promotes deeper understanding and long-term retention.

A clear example of how I use this strategy is when I was teaching my Year 5 student her times tables. I would start the session off with her writing down the answers. Then, instead of having her simply read or rewrite multiplication facts, I would use active recall by regularly testing her without notes. I would focus on a small batch of timestables and ask her quick-fire questions such as “What is 7 × 8?” and encourage her to answer from memory. If she struggled, we’d break the problem down together using patterns or strategies, and then I ask her again shortly after to reinforce the correct answer. This helps shift her learning from memorisation to true understanding.

I also incorporate spaced repetition by revisiting her times tables across multiple sessions. At the start of each lesson, I include a short review of the tables she previously found difficult. Over time, the intervals between reviews increase as her confidence improves. This ensures that she is not just remembering the answers temporarily, but retaining them in the long term.

Through this approach, I have seen significant improvement in both her speed and accuracy as well as her confidence. She is now more willing to attempt challenging questions without hesitation!

Annaliese Lakis

Today’s observation session focused on Daniella working with her student, Eowin, on the topic of indices in mathematics. The lesson was well-structured and demonstrated a clear progression from foundational concepts to more complex applications. Daniella began by revisiting prior knowledge, ensuring that Eowin was confident with basic exponent rules before introducing more challenging problems. This approach helped to reinforce understanding and build confidence.

Throughout the session, Daniella used clear explanations and step-by-step modelling to demonstrate how to simplify expressions involving indices. She frequently checked for understanding by asking Eowin targeted questions, which encouraged active participation rather than passive learning. Eowin showed engagement and was willing to attempt problems independently, indicating a supportive and low-pressure learning environment.

One of the strengths of the session was Daniella’s ability to identify areas where Eowin was uncertain, particularly when applying multiple index laws in a single question. She addressed this by breaking problems down into smaller, manageable steps and using examples to clarify misconceptions. Additionally, her use of positive reinforcement helped to maintain Eowin’s motivation and confidence.

Overall, the session was effective in developing Eowin’s understanding of indices. Moving forward, incorporating more varied problem types and real-world applications could further strengthen conceptual understanding and problem-solving skills.

Tira Rustom

Throughout Years 11 and 12, I experienced significant stress and anxiety. As both a procrastinator and a perfectionist, I often found myself stuck between avoiding tasks and feeling overwhelmed by the pressure to do them perfectly. During the HSC, I had to actively learn strategies to manage this anxiety in order to perform at my best. Now, as a tutor, I recognise these same tendencies in many students.

One of the most important things I’ve learnt is that anxiety in students is not simply about workload, it’s about perception. Many students view tasks as much bigger and more intimidating than they actually are. As a tutor, my role is not just to teach content, but to help reframe these perceptions. Breaking tasks into smaller, manageable steps can make a huge difference. When a student feels like they’ve “started,” even in a small way, their confidence often begins to build. Creating a calm and supportive environment is also essential. Students with anxiety can be highly self-critical, so positive reinforcement is key. Acknowledging effort rather than just outcomes helps shift their mindset from fear of failure to a focus on progress. Yet, most student’s during HSC feel this immense pressure and thus, anxiety, I often share my own experiences to show students that this is normal and manageable, by speaking personally I can help normalise their feelings and reduces the sense of isolation that anxiety can bring.

Ultimately, tutoring is not just about improving academic results, it’s about building resilience. By helping students manage their anxiety, we are equipping them with skills that extend far beyond the classroom.

Cara Charalambous