First Education

During today’s session, I observed Emmanuelle’s session with her Year 12 English Advanced student on reflective writing for the Module C exam. I was impressed by how she worked initially by demystifying the task, framing reflection as a familiar process: “It’s still essay writing,” she told the student, “but instead of analysing an author’s intention, you’re analysing your own.” This simple reframing seemingly worked to reduce the student’s confusion and gave them a clear point of entry into the task.

Emmanuelle’s approach was methodical yet flexible. She drew direct parallels between the critical essays the student had already mastered and the reflective piece they now needed to produce. For example, she explained that a thesis was still necessary, only here it would be a statement about her student’s own creative purpose. Evidence was also still required, but in this case it would come from the student’s own writing: a chosen metaphor, a structural decision, or a stylistic technique. Emmanuelle even modelled the kind of language shift that was needed, contrasting phrases such as “The author conveys…” with “I sought to convey…” to highlight the reflective voice.

What impressed me most was the way she encouraged self-awareness without reducing the task to formula. She asked the student to think critically about why they made particular choices and how those aligned with the rubric’s demands. Rather than dictating answers, this guided the student into articulating their own rationale, reinforcing independence.

By the end of the lesson, the student had not only drafted a clear outline but also expressed greater confidence.

Great job Emmanuelle!

Thea Macarthur-Lassen

Today I observed a year 3 session where the tutor and student worked both English and math together. They worked on multiplication and division homework and spelling, creativity and storytelling together. The student’s spelling and brainstorming/creative skills were worked on when the tutor placed a suffix on the board. The student and tutor then worked together to brainstorm different words with the suffix that was written on the board, like ‘gladly’ and ‘sadly’ for the suffix ‘-ly’. On top of brainstorming these words, the tutor checked that the student knew all the definitions of the words and could use them in sentences. If the student was stuck on thinking of words with the suffix, the tutor would give hints and examples of the word usage to help the student. The tutor also offered praise when pointing out how many words they brainstormed together, crediting the student and motivating her as well. Spelling was built upon more by making a Kahoot of the words from the suffix brainstorm, which allowed the student to pick the correct answer with the correct spelling, further consolidating the student’s spelling in a fun way. Storytelling and creativity was also practiced in the session when the student was allowed to draw different pictures describing their story.

They also worked on mixed worded multiplication and division questions together. The tutor described different questions to allow the student further understanding such as ’16 divided by 2′ to ’16 split into 2 groups’ and ‘2 multiplied by 3’ to ‘2 groups of 3’. To further help the student with division, the tutor also utilised real objects and allowed the student to split the objects into the required groups needed for the question. This helped the student visualise what division and multiplication was, allowing the student to understand the concepts better. The tutor also motivated the student towards finishing the work by encouraging a reward of playing a game together. All these techniques used in the session allowed the student to consolidate their knowledge in both english and maths while making the lesson fun for the student.

Cynthia Lam

Congratulations Year 12 – you’ve made it through trials and graduation is just around the corner! With about four weeks left before the HSC, the hardest part isn’t over yet: studying while you’re no longer in the school routine. Without bells, teachers, and classmates to keep you on track, it’s easy to feel a bit lost. Here are some practical tips to help you stay focused and make the most of this time.

How much should you study?
Think of study like training for a marathon: you want steady, consistent effort, not all-nighters. Aim for around 4-7 hours a day, broken into chunks with short breaks. It’s more about quality than quantity – two hours of distraction-free work beats five hours of scrolling between TikTok and notes.

Splitting your study time.
Not all subjects need equal time. Prioritise your weaker subjects first – those are the ones where improvements can really boost your ATAR. For stronger subjects, keep practising with past papers or timed practice. A good rule of thumb is a 60/40 split: 60% on areas you’re less confident in, 40% revising your strengths.

Staying focused.
Without school structure, you need to build your own schedule. Set a daily routine: wake up at the same time, map out your study blocks, and finish at a set hour to avoid burnout. Use techniques like the Pomodoro method (25 minutes work, 5 minutes break) to stay sharp. And don’t forget the basics – exercise, sleep, and proper meals all keep your brain firing.

These next few weeks are your chance to turn trial feedback into HSC results. Keep it balanced, stay consistent, and back yourself – you’ve got this.

Benjamin Hickman

Today, I had time to reflect on the approach toward teaching younger students that may get distracted a bit more easily and have a lot of energy, as opposed to older students. Tutoring younger students is incredibly rewarding, but it is not always an easy task.

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is that keeping children focused throughout the lesson is not only about making the lesson “fun”, but more so about tailoring the material so that it becomes more engaging, and they want to keep learning. A child who is interested will naturally pay more attention and absorb more of the information, which makes the time spent together far more effective.

One strategy that works well in doing so is linking the content to the student’s personal interests. For example, if a student enjoys cooking, it can be helpful to relate a maths problem to doubling a recipe. After this link, a concept that felt abstract and confusing can become much more engaging and concrete. These connections aid in making learning more memorable and relevant. It can also strengthen the connection between the tutor and the student, as they bond over something, which effectively also makes the learning more successful.

Another important aspect is making questions and notes more accessible. Younger students can easily feel overwhelmed by long explanations or complicated wording. However, by breaking things down into simple steps, using photos and diagrams, or even incorporating colours and drawings can make a big difference. I’ve also found that giving them space to rephrase a question in their own words helps us as tutors to know what they truly understand and where they might be struggling.

Ultimately, tutoring younger kids is not just about teaching content and answering questions. While this is always important, it is also crucial to find ways to use their interests to spark curiosity, and present information to them in a way that feels approachable. When lessons are both accessible and enjoyable, learning becomes something they look forward to rather than something they dread.

Katreen Diab

Hey guys, I had the great opportunity to observe Lottie and her student Austin. As Austin is in year 12, they went over past papers in preparation for the HSC maths standard 2 paper.

Lottie revised all the concepts, with a focus on networking. She explained how to ensure Austin would answer the specific questions as per the syllabus dot points, i.e. how to get a minimum spanning tree and how to ensure that his answer was correct; he would look to the the lowest weighted edges, and then find a way to connect these lowest weighted edges together by considering the different paths to do so, such that a minimal spanning tree is ensured.

They moved onto functions, revising tips and tricks for how to answer the questions quickly – using x=-b/2a for the x value of the vertex of a parabola, and always reminding him to always check his graph to see if his equation was correct (identifying the vertex and whether or not the graph was ‘right way up’ or ‘upside down’).

Austin looked to be confident with the remainder of the questions, answering questions Lottie would ask, and leading the approach in answering the questions.

Overall it was a great session to observe. Great job Lottie!

Alex Stamoulis

A strong foundation in mathematics is essential for high school students, not only for academic achievement but also for developing confidence in their own ability to approach complex problems. Too often, students are eager—or pressured—to leap ahead into advanced topics without first mastering the basics. While this might seem like an efficient way to accelerate learning, it often undermines long-term understanding and can leave students feeling overwhelmed and discouraged.

Mathematics is inherently cumulative: algebra builds on arithmetic, calculus builds on algebra, and so on. Without a secure grasp of core concepts such as fractions, decimals, ratios, or basic algebraic manipulation, students struggle when faced with higher-level material. They may attempt to memorise procedures instead of understanding the reasoning behind them, which quickly unravels when problems become less familiar. This creates frustration and fosters the belief that they are “not good at maths,” when in reality the issue is an insecure foundation.

Focusing on fundamental skills allows students to develop mathematical fluency and flexibility. When a learner understands the “why” as well as the “how,” they can recognise patterns, make connections across topics, and approach problems with creativity. This not only makes advanced material more accessible, it also builds the confidence that comes from genuine competence. A student who can confidently manipulate equations or interpret graphs is far more likely to persevere with challenging material than one who feels constantly on shaky ground.

Moreover, a solid foundation encourages a growth mindset. Success in mastering the basics shows students that progress in mathematics comes through practice and persistence, not innate talent. This mindset is crucial as they encounter more abstract and complex ideas in later years.

Ultimately, building strong foundational knowledge is not about holding students back; it is about equipping them with the tools to move forward with confidence, resilience, and a genuine appreciation for the subject.

Jemima Smith

Today, I decided to work on my module 6 notes. Module 6 is an important module to cover well with the students as it is often done later in the year and students remember it less. It also involves knowing a lot of different examples of genetic technologies. The notes I worked on today are from the first IQ on mutation which involves understanding examples of different mutagenic agents and how they function, which not many students fully understand. You also need to understand all the different types of mutations and different ways you can categorise them, as well as their mechanisms and how they affect protein function. I found this a fulfilling and helpful activity in working on some notes that I can hopefully share with my students in their sessions.

Grace

I think AI has helped in many ways from summarising key points to finding information on a topic. However, as leaders, I think it has hindered our ability to problem solve, persevere and decreased our attention span. In saying this, I don’t think AI will replace leadership in any way, however, it will inhibit some key skills. To test this, I put in Chat GPT “Give me resources on how AI will inhibit leadership”, and it gave me numerous resources. This is helpful, but it reduces our ability to divert our attention for 20 minutes trying to find resources on this topic. Thus, reducing our attention span as everything is so instant and reducing our ability to problem solve when we can’t find the source for a topic. However, AI is unable to grapple with the ‘soft’ human skills like empathy, authority, honesty, humility and communication. Thus, when leaders use AI in their jobs, for example writing a speech, it can come of cold, detached and formulaic. Thus, is not as impactful. This made me think about the most impactful speeches, which were infused with so much emotion (for example, ‘I Have a Dream’ speech), which was written before AI was even created. Therefore, I believe AI has not place in leadership as leadership relies on so much of the ‘soft’ human skills that AI cannot replicate.

Charlotte

Many tutors are trained in talking, how to talk, what to talk about, what tone to talk in, but not many are taught when to listen. Every student is a completely unique individual, with all of their learning styles and levels of understanding different to every other student that we work with every day. When we first meet a student, we listen to their background, what they struggle within the subject etc, but from that point onwards we try our best to tell the student every piece of information we know every session in an attempt to help them.

Some students are great communicators and always discuss what they are confused or concerned about. However, not all students have learned how to effectively communicate and some may even tend to pretend they understand something they do not to prevent embarrassment or avoid being disruptive. This is where listening as a tutor is so important. Learning how to spot whether your student is not fully comprehending a topic is so crucial to building a base of knowledge to build on. Having a student explain a worked problem to you, like you are their friend is another way of listening which can help tutors to observe their students level of understanding. Once you have identified that your student is not properly understanding a concept, it is very important to listen to why they are confused or stuck on certain concepts, instead of jumping into an explanation.

Listening helps tutors understand their students issues from the roots, and provides each student with an opportunity to feel heard and understood, building a stronger understanding between the student and the tutor. Listening and understanding is the key to developing a students education, no matter the level or the difficulty of the problem being addressed.

Katie Waller

Sometimes, the reason why a student is struggling with a subject is because they truly do not find it interesting. As a tutor, it is easy to find topics we know a lot about interesting, however, many students do not know enough about a topic to find it interesting. In the past when I have identified that students do not find the topic in the slightest interesting, it has been my mission to make the student see the joy in the same way that I do.

My first step is normally to have a discussion with a student about themselves, what sports they are interested in, what movies they like, what jobs they think may be interesting and what they like to do with their spare time. This can help me to think of topics that relate to the subject I am trying to teach. For example, one of my students hated persuasive writing and never performed well in school in any kind of persuasive topic, but loved playing soccer. She then completely exceeded my expectations when I told her to write a persuasive essay on why her local soccer club should not be shut down. With a little bit of guidance and examples writing about other topics she was interested in, such as the environment and pollution, the student fully grasped persuasive techniques and was eventually able to write persuasive essays on topics she did not particularly care about.

This method is applicable from a small scale to large scale of lessons, whether it is just explaining why math’s is important for the future or making a student see how science is everywhere around them. Every student at all levels should have the opportunity to experience joy and curiosity from education just as much as the ones who are teaching them do.

Katie Waller