First Education

Exams are a major part of student life, often accompanied by intense pressure. While some students thrive under these high-stakes conditions, using adrenaline to sharpen their focus, others struggle with stress and anxiety, which can hinder performance.

The key to managing exam pressure lies in preparation and mindset. Students who establish effective study routines, practice past papers, and simulate exam conditions tend to perform better. Time management, active recall techniques, and consistent revision can help boost confidence and reduce last-minute panic. Additionally, strategies like deep breathing, mindfulness, and positive self-talk can help students stay calm and focused during the exam itself.

However, not all students respond positively to pressure. Test anxiety can create mental blocks, making it difficult to recall information or think critically under time constraints. Schools play a crucial role in addressing this by offering stress management workshops, promoting flexible assessment methods, and fostering a culture that prioritizes learning over grades.

Ultimately, performing well under exam pressure is not just about intelligence—it’s about resilience, preparation, and the ability to stay composed. By developing these skills, students can not only excel in exams but also gain valuable coping mechanisms for future challenges.

Jordan Udler

Hello everyone! I had the opportunity to observe Gabrielle’s lesson, tutoring a Year 11 student in Maths Advanced. The session highlighted her ability to create a learning environment that is both structured and flexible, adapting to the student’s abilities.
The content that was covered was revision for algebra and surds. Gabrielle started the session by slowly easing into the lesson from recapping previous knowledge seeing as it was the first lesson of term. This encompassed reviewing the student’s progress and identifying any areas that needed additional support. This allowed her to pinpoint learning gaps and encourage the student to be more comfortable in addressing concerns and challenges they were experiencing. This built an initial strong foundation for the lesson, helping the student feel more at ease, and setting a positive tone for the rest of the session.
Gabrielle continued to reiterate the importance of mathematical concepts and techniques within the scope of the course that are pivotal for the subject. This approach not only deepened comprehension but also encouraged the student to apply their learning outside of the course. Gabrielle employed interactive visual materials to help keep the session lively and allowed the student to take an active role in their learning. The method of breaking down mathematical questions into smaller refined parts not only made learning enjoyable but also promoted confidence in the student’s ability to interpret questions in mathematical terminology.

To finalise the lesson, Gabrielle provided a summary of the student’s strengths while providing constructive feedback on improvements that the student could make in the future to avoid challenges and concerns. This helped proactively concise the lesson content in an overview.
Gabrielle’s attention to detail and her creative use of teaching resources made the session both educational and enjoyable. Her communication and adaptive approach helped the student feel supported, while her enthusiastic teaching style ensured engagement throughout. Well done, Gabrielle, it was a thoroughly productive session that showcased effective teaching techniques.

Evanna Manavis

Brianna was working through some HSC English essay questions with the student, and it was clear right from the start that she knew her stuff. She gave some great, insightful feedback, really helping the student grasp the material in a practical way. One of the things Brianna did that stood out was using a Venn Diagram to break down the three main themes they were focusing on—culture, language, and identity. This made the abstract ideas much easier to understand and connect. It was a super effective way to simplify complex concepts.
Brianna also shared her own study notes from The Castle, which was really thoughtful. It gave the student a new perspective on the text and some great ideas for structuring their own notes. This really helped the student feel more confident about their approach to the text.
They also went through a pre-written essay response from the student, breaking it down paragraph by paragraph. Brianna didn’t just point out what needed improvement; she also highlighted the positive aspects of the writing. Brianna also made sure to use constructive feedback throughout and minimised the use of negative feedback. For example, she used the word “weak” instead of “bad,” which I thought was a nice touch. It made the feedback feel more constructive and less discouraging. Brianna’s approach definitely kept the student engaged and open to suggestions.
It was obvious that Brianna and the student had a great rapport—they worked really well together, and the session flowed smoothly. Brianna made sure everything they did was aligned with the HSC rubric, so everything was super relevant and was sure to relate to the requirements so the student can achieve the most marks they can.
Honestly, Brianna did an awesome job. Her communication, teaching skills, and knowledge are spot on, and it’s clear she’s helping her student get better every session!

Demi Roussakis

Technology has become a powerful tool in one-on-one private tutoring, enhancing the learning experience while keeping the personal, human connection at its core. For tutors, digital tools make it easier to tailor lessons to each student’s unique learning style, ensuring they feel supported and understood.

Tablets and laptops allow tutors to bring up interactive visuals, real-world examples, and engaging exercises on the spot, making even the most difficult concepts easier to grasp. A tutor can quickly pull up a simulation, an explainer video, or a step-by-step walkthrough to help a student struggling with a topic, reinforcing the lesson in a way that resonates with them.

Technology also allows for better organization and follow-ups. A tutor can track progress through digital notes, shared documents, or learning management apps, ensuring that each session builds on the last. Students can receive personalized homework, quizzes, or video explanations tailored to their needs, allowing them to practice between sessions without feeling overwhelmed.

Perhaps most importantly, technology helps maintain the personal connection between tutor and student. With tools like digital whiteboards or note-taking apps, lessons remain interactive and engaging, but the heart of tutoring—patience, encouragement, and trust—stays intact. When used thoughtfully, technology doesn’t replace the human touch; it strengthens it, making learning more effective, comfortable, and enjoyable for students.

Jordan

Today I observed Alexander who was teaching his Year 8 student simple and compound interest. At the beginning of the session, he first revised past homework questions that the student was not able to complete at home. While reviewing his homework, Alex revised the important information for the topic which helped the student understand their mistakes. After, he asked the students to try the questions again that they could not previously do. The student completed it and got them all correct. This was an effective method in teaching the student as it allowed them to understand their mistakes specific areas where they got the question wrong, and empowered them to revisit the questions again.

When he started the new topic, Alex thoroughly explained the background of the topic, gave relevant world examples on the use of both simple and compound interest, as well as going through the formulas. During all this, he asked the to student what he knows about the topic and tried to make his examples relevant to the students initial understanding. This was a very interesting approach as he tailored the explanation to the students own experiences. After his explanation, Alex went in detail through worked examples, allowing his student time to work through the examples and try to understand their mistakes specific topic thoroughly.

After that, he gave the student a couple of questions ranging from different difficulties to challenge their understanding of the topic. This is effective is showing the students current understanding of the topic and gives Alex a range of where he needs to explain more of the concept of give more examples.

Overall, Alex did an exceptional job in teaching the student about simple and compound interest. I have learnt a lot about his methods for tutoring such as allowing the student to explain to me the concept and fill in the gaps.

Great work!!!

James Bletsas

I did some research and reflection on the way in which I tutor primary students to ensure they can get the best out of their next session.

One of the most important things with primary students is making the sessions fun and engaging. I have found the most effective way to do this, specifically in English, is create sessions that allows the student to explore their own interests. For example, my main focus for my year 1 student is differentiating between when it is appropriate to use capital letters and when not to, as well as the motor skills behind all of these letters. To do so, I prompt the student to pick simple sentences that we can use to put his skills into practice. I do so by asking a question, or having a sentence starter, that he is able to finish in any way he likes. We then craft the sentence together and decide what he is going to be writing before he starts. This ensures that he can think about the sentence as a whole before getting started and is thus able to focus on the specific skills that need to be worked. I found this method to be extremely effective at keeping him engaged with the lesson and learning as much as possible.

Furthermore, I also like to break up the middle of the session with a short game, but instead of Uno, I keep the student on topic by playing word tic tac toe. This is essentially normal tic tac toe, however instead of putting a x or an o in the box, you must write a word. I also change this up and make things more challenging by requesting different things. For example, all capital letters, all lower case, or words with more than 4 letters. I feel that this also allows the student to remain on track in the session and learning whilst still feeling as though he is having a break.

Riva Burkett

Today I observed Kristina’s session with her Year 11 maths advanced student Katerina. They were focusing on the indices topic during the lesson. The session started of with them covering the key rules to know when working with indices before starting with questions. I like how Kristina ensured to check in with her student’s prior confidence with this topic to make her aware of what parts her student finds difficult and what to focus more strongly on during the lesson. Kristina started by doing the question on the board and asking her student what she thinks she should do next.
Completing the first few questions on the board together evidently helped Katerina with her confidence on some of the difficult questions!! She continued working through questions without needing Kristina’s help on the whiteboard and would ask questions to double check her work. Kristina continued to thoroughly explain the different methods to do certain questions and the certain mathematical conventions associated with this topic. I also liked how Kristina reminded her student about certain ways she should ensure to write answers especially in school exams. Kristina would also tell Katerina if she was close to the answer so Katerina could figure out her slight error herself instead of Kristina immediately pointing out the mistake, which is a much better learning experience!!
They continued with answering past HSC questions where Kristina gave her student further tips on how to answer the trickier questions.
It was great experience to observe this session and I think Kristina did very well!! Good job Kristina!!

Sophia McLean

Teaching dystopian literature to students in early high school education serves as a crucial gateway to developing critical thinking about society, governance, and human nature. At this developmental stage, when young people are beginning to question the world around them, exploring these genres helps them understand that societal structures exist on a spectrum rather than in simple binaries of “good” and “bad.”

The inclusion of these texts is particularly valuable because it coincides with students’ growing awareness of social issues and their capacity for abstract thinking. Importantly, the real educational opportunity lies in helping students recognise that the distinction between dystopias and utopias is often blurred. What appears perfect on the surface may harbour hidden costs, and what seems dystopian might protect certain fundamental values.

Consider how “The Giver” by Lois Lowry presents a society that initially appears utopian – free from pain, conflict, and inequality – but gradually reveals the price of this perfection: the loss of emotional depth, individual choice, and human connection. This complexity teaches students that societal decisions often involve trade-offs and that different perspectives can view the same situation radically differently. Students develop sophisticated analytical skills that extend beyond literature by exploring these nuances. They learn to question absolute statements, recognise competing values, and understand that most real-world situations exist in shades of grey.

The tutoring environment proves especially conducive to this deep analytical exploration. Freed from the constraints of classroom rubrics and standardised assessments, students in one-on-one settings can fully engage with the philosophical complexities these texts present. This intellectual freedom allows them to challenge the very notion of utopia’s existence, examine the hidden merits within dystopian systems, and question the artificial boundaries between these concepts. Paradoxically, this unrestricted exploration in the tutoring space often translates into stronger academic performance within the classroom structure, as students develop more nuanced and sophisticated analytical frameworks that enhance their formal essay writing and class discussions.

Thea Macarthur-Lassen

Allowing pupils to assume the role of the teacher is one of the most revolutionary approaches in education. By doing this, students are forced to not only take in information but also clearly explain and convey it to others. Instead of memorising a particular example and repeating what they have learnt, this approach guarantees that the learner genuinely comprehends the complexities of what they have learnt.

To implement this as a tutor I pose a question to my students, and they work the question on the whiteboard as if they were teaching the topic back to me. This can also be adapted to group sessions among other students by leading discussions and presenting mini-lessons to guiding small-group activities. This act of learning, processing and then teaching knowledge requires students to truly understand information, identify key points, and anticipate potential questions—skills that elevate understanding far beyond surface-level memorisation.

One of the biggest advantages of this approach is the stimulation of a student to assess and correct their own newly acquired knowledge. Students gain awareness of their own learning processes as they break down complex concepts and structure their explanations. This reflective process helps them identify gaps in their knowledge, encouraging further exploration and mastery.

Additionally, this method helps students to simplify often complex questions into a simpler process that they can better understand and apply when needed. Furthermore, in a group setting, when students teach their peers, they use relatable language and examples, often creating a more engaging and accessible learning experience. Their efforts build confidence and a sense of ownership over what they have learnt.

The “flipping the classroom” approach is a powerful way to shift from passive learning to active engagement. By giving students the reins, educators not only deepen subject understanding but also nurture essential life skills, preparing learners for success both in and beyond the classroom.

Samuel Lotter

Every tutor has faced the challenge of trying to capture a student’s attention or motivate them to tackle their studies. Whether it’s navigating distractions, managing academic stress, or finding the relevance of subjects they struggle to connect with, engaging high school students requires more than just subject knowledge. It calls for empathy, adaptability, and an understanding of their unique perspectives.

Building rapport and trust is essential for breaking down barriers to learning. Students are more inclined to participate when they feel respected and understood. Taking the time to learn about their interests, goals, and challenges creates a foundation for positive engagement. Approaching sessions with patience and a non-judgemental attitude fosters open communication and helps alleviate performance anxiety.

A key aspect of engagement lies in making learning relevant to their lives. Many students struggle to see the practical applications of their studies, leading to disengagement. By connecting concepts to real-world scenarios or their personal interests—such as demonstrating how mathematical principles apply to budgeting or exploring historical events through the lens of current social issues—tutors can ignite curiosity and motivation.

Encouraging active participation is also crucial. Rather than simply delivering information, tutors can ask open-ended questions, promote critical thinking, and invite students to explain concepts in their own words. This approach reinforces understanding and builds confidence, empowering students to take ownership of their learning.

Recognising that every student learns differently, adapting teaching strategies to suit individual needs—whether through visual aids, hands-on activities, or verbal discussions—can greatly enhance comprehension and retention. Additionally, fostering a growth mindset helps students view challenges as opportunities for growth rather than obstacles. Providing constructive feedback, celebrating progress, and emphasising effort over innate ability cultivates resilience and a positive attitude toward learning.

Ultimately, successful tutoring goes beyond academic performance; it’s about inspiring confidence, curiosity, and a lifelong love of learning.

Toby Bower