Academic material is definitely crucial in tutoring, but one factor that is frequently overlooked is the tutor-student interaction. While methods, topic, and curriculum offer the foundation for sessions, it is the relationship fostered by a tutor that has the potential to profoundly improve a student’s educational experience.

Reflecting on my own views and experiences, I’ve realised that trust and rapport are essential components of good tutoring. Unlike traditional classroom settings, tutoring allows students to form one-on-one relationships. This unique interaction enables the tutor to identify not only the student’s academic skills and shortcomings, but also their learning preferences, interests, and motivations.

For example, I’ve witnessed how incorporating a student’s passions into lessons may increase participation. When fractions are applied to areas they are interested in, such as baking or soccer statistics, a struggling student’s engagement is increased. This is more than just a strategy for making studying enjoyable; it demonstrates to the student that their interests are important and that learning can have a meaningful impact on their lives. From personal experiences, one of my students enjoys Minecraft, and we were learning to write narratives, so I allowed his story to take place in a Minecraft universe. His enthusiasm for the narrative inspired his interest in writing and encouraged him to be inventive with the details.

Encouragement and positive reinforcement play an important role in connection building in tutoring. Many students seek tutoring because they have academic concerns or are afraid of failing. A simple, honest acknowledgement of their efforts, such as “I see how hard you’re working on this,” can make a huge difference. These simple moments of encouragement help to cultivate a growth mentality in students, teaching them to value effort and progress over perfection.

Building relationships may not be clearly stated on any syllabus, yet its value extends well beyond any particular class. It serves as a reminder that education is about more than simply what we educate students; it is also about how they feel about themselves and their potential.

Isabella Garofalo

Big goals are exciting—they inspire us to dream big. But they can also feel overwhelming. This is something I grapple with often. Whether it’s getting the motivation to do a task, finishing a project or improving my skills, the hardest part is knowing where to start. Over time, I’ve learned some strategies to help make the process less daunting.

The first step is clarity. Instead of vague goals like “do well in school,” define them specifically. For example, “Raise my math grade from B to A this semester” is clear and measurable. With a well-defined endpoint, it’s easier to create a roadmap.

Next, break the goal into smaller milestones. For instance:

Review past test topics.
Practice problems for 20 minutes daily.
Schedule weekly tutoring sessions.
Each milestone should feel achievable, offering a sense of progress without overwhelm.

Deadlines are crucial but challenging for me. Without them, procrastination is inevitable. Assign deadlines to each milestone. For example:

Week 1: Identify weak topics.
Week 2: Start revising one topic per day.
Stick to the schedule but adjust as needed.

Celebrate small wins. Completing a chapter or mastering a concept is worth acknowledging. Small rewards, like a treat or break, can keep motivation high.

Finally, reflect and adapt. If a step feels too big, break it down further. Adjusting plans is part of the process. Progress isn’t always linear, but moving forward, no matter how small the steps, is what matters.

Big goals are daunting, but breaking them into manageable parts makes them achievable. Start small, and watch the progress build. What’s one goal you’re tackling? Try this approach—you’ll be surprised at how far it takes you.

Allegra Pezzullo

Today I had the opportunity to observe Joseph with his year 10 Maths student Melody, helping her with numbers and statistics topic, specifically box plots. He used a range of strategies to keep the lesson engaging and make sure Melody was supported and involved throughout.

To kick things off, Joseph broke the concept into easy-to-understand steps. He went over the basics first—median, quartiles, and range—to make sure Melody had a good foundation. Then, he used familiar examples, like school sports results and test scores, to show how box plots can be useful in real life, which I thought was quite helpful.

Joseph used a mix of visual and hands-on techniques to explain the content. He showed Melody how to draw a box plot on the whiteboard, breaking down each part—the minimum, maximum, quartiles, and interquartile range. Then, he had Melody create her own box plot using a dataset, guiding her through it while letting her take charge.

Midway through the session, Joseph suggested a quick break, and they played a short game of Uno. It gave Melody a chance to relax and reset before diving back into the work.

After the break, Joseph challenged Melody to interpret completed box plots, asking her to point out patterns and compare data sets. When she got stuck, he rephrased the questions or gave her a small nudge in the right direction. To wrap up, he gave her a mix of practice problems, starting with simpler ones and building up to more challenging tasks.

The combination of clear explanations, practical examples, and the relaxed break with Uno helped keep Melody engaged and confident. By the end of the session, she’d made solid progress and was feeling much more comfortable with box plots. I’ll certainly be making sure to incorporate a few of these strategies in my sessions. Thanks Joseph.

Eric Mihas

Today I had the pleasure of observing Demetria with her Year 3 student, Aaria. In the session they focused on English, Religion and Math; specifically, writing a story about Ruby Red, studying for Aaria’s weekly religion quizzes and fractions.

Demetria began the session with English by marking Aaria’s homework where she had written a story about Ruby Red. She focused on the importance of imagery by prompting Aaria with questions such as, “can you imagine where Ruby Red?”, “Can you imagine where she likes to play?”. These questions were significant as they allowed Aaria to understand why she needed to include more descriptions, rather than the fact that she just simply did. This provides a great framework for Aaria’s learning in the future.

Moving onto religion, Demetria had prepared a trivia styled activity with Aaria where she asked her questions and got her to write her answers down in different colours. This was interesting as she capitalised on using different colours to foster memory and the absorption of information. This seemed to work very well as when Demetria repeated the quiz in a different order, Aaaria only got 1 question incorrect.

Finally, Demetria covered fractions with Aaria, a topic which she seemed extremely confident in. It is evident that Demetria has covered this topic with Aaria very well as she was very advanced for her age and understood everything from lessons covered in the past. For this topic, Demetria opted to using the whiteboard which contributed to the lesson moving smoothly. As Demetria went through questions on the board, Aaria was eventually able to work independently and finished all worksheets provided quickly.

Overall, these were the following methods that I found the most helpful to use in my own lessons:

1. Encompassing multimodal teaching, in particular, using the white boards, note books and the laptop.

2. Utilising different colours to aid in memorisation techniques.

3. Allowing for conversation in between questions yet asking if she had finished her questions to ease her back into completing her work.

All in all, Demetria clearly has an amazing relationship with Aaria which was very admirable. Her close dynamic with her has allowed for an environment of comfortability in which Aaria is not intimidated to ask questions or express difficulties.

Briana Vaz

I got the great opportunity to observe a fellow tutor Olga tutor her Year 5 Maths/English student, Alexander. Today, they were covering comprehension and division. While observing Olga, I picked up multiple tips and tricks that I will keep in mind and learn from in my future lessons. This includes Olga’s positive attitude and demeanour towards her student, positioning her into a comfortable and welcoming environment. This promotes a free flowing conversation between the tutor and the student that elicits the student in being able to ask any questions that arise. Furthermore, Olga thoroughly embedded the concepts around division and comprehension to her student so that there was a full comprehensive understanding, assisting her in exam style questions that will inevitably come up. Olga gradually built her students understanding and frequently checked in to ensure her student was following by asking questions like, “Does that make sense?” and “are you finding everything ok?”. These small check-ins confirm that the student is fully comprehending which Olga fantastically carried out. She also portrayed a distinct amount of attention to intricate detail so that her student is prepared for any questions/scenario when a question on division or comprehension arises. Once she established the foundational concept of division and comprehension to her student, she noticed that her student was still struggling with some division problems. In response to this, Olga promptly revisited this topic and revised the questions, using a different method of explaining hoping the student would understand better. By the end of the lesson, the student was confident in division and comprehension after grasping the concepts and being exposed to multiple questions and tricks that examiners throw in to put students off.
Overall, I profoundly enjoyed this observation and learnt some very valuable lessons!
Thank you 🙂

Rheanna

I recently witnessed my fellow tutor working with a Year 12 student on Business Studies. Watching the session unfold, I was surprised by how much emphasis she placed on guidance, critical thinking, and creating a friendly environment.

The session began with the student discussing her current difficulty in her extended response questions. Instead of providing clear explanations, the tutor encouraged the student to express her ideas and reasoning. She posed open-ended questions, which enabled the student to think about her response and guide her in the proper direction. This strategy allowed the student to expand her understanding and acquire critical thinking abilities necessary for higher-level learning.

This observation demonstrated the value of asking insightful questions, fostering a calm yet focused atmosphere, and practicing active listening. It served as a reminder that good tutoring involves more than just imparting knowledge; it also entails giving learners the skills and attitude they need to think critically on their own and face difficulties head-on.

The tutor remained composed and supportive over the entire session, emphasising that errors were teaching moments rather than failures. The student seemed more assured of her comprehension by the end of the session and keen to take on more challenges.

Isabella Garofalo

Today I observed Katherines session! This student had just gotten their maths test back, so they went through it together!

From this session I witnessed how important the tutor is in rebuilding understanding and confidence after a difficult test. The student arrived appearing a little bit stressed from school, so Katherine took the time to chat, and make the student feel really comfortable and relaxed. They were unsure where they went wrong, so they reviewed the test paper together, focusing not on mistakes as failures but as opportunities for growth. She was very calm and supportive which helped ease the student’s anxiety, creating a positive environment for learning.

Katherine was able to identify key areas where the student struggled and rather than overwhelming the student with everything at once, she prioritised the most critical concepts, breaking them into smaller, manageable steps.

After this, they went through other practice papers and textbook questions to target the areas she needed to work on. Katherine also maintained a positive environment by emphasising the progress the student had already made. When the student correctly solved a problem they previously struggled with, she celebrated that achievement and used it as motivation to tackle more challenging questions.

They talked about other strategies for approaching studying for next time, and went through some simple topics the student can review over the holidays if they have time. By the end of the session, the student definitely had a clearer grasp of the material but also seemed to have a renewed confidence in their ability. Katherines empathetic and structured approach highlights the importance of tutoring in helping students overcome setbacks and view challenges as stepping stones to success.

Shyla Gloster

I had the chance to sit in on a session with Patrick and a student working on fractions and factoring, which turned out to be incredibly insightful. The lesson began with Patrick helping the student review some recent exercises, where they worked through simplifying fractions and factoring quadratic expressions. Patrick made sure to go over each step methodically, reinforcing key concepts like the greatest common factor (GCF) and how to identify factors of binomials.

Patrick also used the session to address common mistakes the student was making, particularly with factoring trinomials. He took extra time to explain the difference between simple and complex factoring, breaking down the process of finding factors and checking the work through substitution. Patrick’s approach was very hands-on; he walked through each problem with the student, ensuring they understood how to arrive at the correct solution.

What stood out to me was how Patrick made the content accessible by asking the student guiding questions and encouraging them to explain their thought process. This helped identify any gaps in understanding and reinforced the key strategies for solving fraction and factoring problems.

Overall, it was a productive session where the student not only practiced specific skills but also built a stronger foundation in understanding fractions and factoring, which will be crucial for future topics and assessments. Patrick’s patient and interactive teaching style created a positive and engaging learning environment.

Tynan Philmara

While learning, setbacks are inevitable. As tutors, it’s our responsibility to help students navigate these moments with resilience and a renewed sense of confidence. Toda I observed Toby, working with Mattia, a Year 9 student, who was dealing with disappointment over a poor math result. The session offered valuable insights into how a supportive approach can turn academic challenges into opportunities for growth.

Mattia’s frustration was evident from the start. A disappointing result had left him questioning his abilities and feeling discouraged about future success in math. Toby began the session by addressing the emotional impact of the result, validating Mattia’s feelings and reminding him that setbacks are a normal part of learning. This empathetic approach set the tone for a constructive and positive discussion.

Breaking Down the Problem
Instead of focusing solely on the grade, Toby helped Mattia identify specific areas where he struggled. By breaking down the test into manageable sections, they pinpointed topics such as algebraic equations and graphing errors. This targeted approach not only clarified what went wrong but also highlighted areas of strength, ensuring Mattia didn’t feel overwhelmed by the result.

Building a Plan for Improvement
Next, Toby worked collaboratively with Mattia to create a practical plan for improvement. Together, they tackled a few problems Mattia had missed on the test, discussing alternative strategies for solving them. Toby emphasized understanding over rote memorization, encouraging Mattia to ask questions and think critically about the processes involved.

Restoring Confidence
Throughout the session, Toby reinforced Mattia’s potential for growth. He praised Mattia’s effort and persistence, using specific examples to show how progress in one area of math could translate into future success. By shifting the focus from failure to learning, Toby helped Mattia see the value in persistence and a growth mindset.

Mattia left the session feeling more confident and equipped with a clear action plan. His experience is a reminder that every setback is an opportunity to learn—and with the right support, students can emerge stronger and more motivated than ever.

Allegra Pezzullo

As tutors, sometimes we feel the pressure to know everything about the topics we teach. But the reality is that sometimes we’re asked to teach topics we’re not completely confident in. Instead of seeing this as a setback, it can be an opportunity to grow—for both ourselves and our students.

Adopt a Growth Mindset
Teaching is about learning as much as it is about instructing. By embracing the challenge as a chance to deepen your understanding, you model curiosity and adaptability for your students. This perspective makes the experience rewarding, not intimidating.

Prepare and Research
Invest time in understanding the fundamentals of the topic. Use reliable resources, seek help from colleagues, and break the material into manageable sections. Preparation builds confidence and ensures clarity. While you don’t need to be an expert, having a solid foundation will help you teach effectively.

Be Transparent
It’s okay to acknowledge that you’re learning too. Saying, “Let’s figure this out together,” can foster a collaborative environment. This approach humanises you and encourages students to engage more deeply with the material and also their peers in class, making learning a shared journey.

Facilitate
Shift your role from an expert to a facilitator. Encourage inquiry-based learning by asking questions and guiding students to find credible resources. This makes the learning process dynamic, empowering students to take ownership of their education.

Use Tools
Use educational platforms like Khan Academy, Quizlet, or interactive apps to supplement your teaching. These resources support your lessons while teaching students how to learn independently and critically.

Reflect and Improve
After the lesson, reflect on what worked and what didn’t. Seek feedback from students or parents and use it to refine your approach for the future. Reflection ensures continual improvement.

Ultimately, teaching unfamiliar material can be an enriching experience. By embracing preparation, collaboration, and reflection, you transform challenges into opportunities, inspiring students to see learning as an ongoing and rewarding journey.

Allegra Pezzullo