This semester, my social psychology lecturer introduced a really cool concept called “referent influence”. The idea centres on how peer influence can be surprisingly powerful—often even more effective than authority figures. Although this phenomenon is primarily employed within spheres of politics, my lecturer also explained how students tend to respond better when guidance comes from someone they see as a peer rather than from teachers. It clicked for me then, that this concept shifts my perceptions of how tutoring works, notably how it can feel more natural and impactful when tutoring comes from someone relatable.

Take a typical classroom—students usually learn from teachers who are knowledgeable but might feel distant. Now, imagine a tutoring setup where the “teacher” is a peer, someone the student can relate to or admire. This kind of peer-to-peer setup can make a big difference because the motivation isn’t just about completing assignments; it’s about wanting to keep up with or emulate someone they look up to. In this way, the learning feels more personal and likely sticks because it’s not based on pressure from above​.

Around the same time, I stumbled on some research about music psychology and its role in reducing anxiety. Although we don’t provide music during sessions, as a person who plays and sings, I found it profoundly interesting to reflect on my own past with music as a tool during school and a gateway to connect with others. The study talked about how group music sessions could provide a low-key but effective way for students to handle stress and bond with others. Thinking about it, tutoring often comes with stress, and these group sessions might offer a new way to make the environment more comfortable. Music, in this context, becomes a tool to break down stress, giving students a chance to connect and express themselves without pressure. It’s easy to imagine how this would help them feel more at ease and open to learning.

Together, these ideas make me see tutoring as more than just helping someone understand a subject. When we factor in things like peer influence and stress management, tutoring could actually become a really powerful support system that meets, in my mind, equally vital criteria; academic and emotional needs.

Toby Bower

Hi Guys,
Today I had the opportunity to observe Ashley’s session with her Business Studies student in lead up to the Business HSC Exam. The tutoring session was based around the student asking clarifying questions and Ashley answering these as well as planning essay responses based on syllabus requirements. Ashley used clear communication and continuous discussion to engage with her student throughout the session.

Ashley guided her responses to students’ questions with clear definitions and examples, targeting them towards HSC questions and expectations for the exam. Giving the examples of questions and giving response guidelines was very informative to the student making expectations of questions and content very clear. Ashley also guided her session using the syllabus, a very crucial tool for business studies, always coming back to this to guide the student. Ashley made crucial links within the syllabus, for example drawing connections between operations influences and operations strategies to guide the student’s detail in responses as well as reaching a critical thinking level of response.

Additionally, they discussed the use of case studies and how they link to specific syllabus points, guiding answers for Section 4 of the exam. This process both helped with the student’s memory of the case studies as well as giving real world examples to make the content easier to understand. The session was very collaborative between Ashley and her student, with Ashley guiding her student through responding and asking leading questions throughout the session to inform and encourage her student. They focused on core business functions guiding how a Business Studies essay can be written in reflection to this, creating plans to ensure key syllabus points were addressed.

This session was great to observe, in particular her use connection between content and examples was very informative!

Grace Blatch

Today I had the opportunity to observe Annaliese. In this session, she demonstrated impressive patience when breaking down the challenging concepts of circumference, area, volume, and surface area . Her student came to the session very confused and very stressed about her upcoming yearly exam. Annaliese started by simplifying each formula and working through straightforward examples to help the student understand the basic steps of substituting in lengths etc. The tutor connected circumference to the distance around a circular track, to the radius and diameter which seemed to engage the student and help them understand how it would work out. Then they moved on to the area of other normal shapes, and compound shapes, working together to break up the shapes into smaller more manageable shapes.

The tutor also emphasises the importance of identifying each shape’s properties before applying any formulas, which allowed the student to distinguish when to use which formula (e.g whether it was a parallelogram, or a rhombus, etc). I learned the value of layering explanations—from basic concepts to complex applications—and saw how helpful it was to reinforce foundational knowledge simply to build the students confidence, before extending to try harder problem solving questions.This helped when they moved onto the volume of shapes (which all stem directly from the area of the main face). Annalieses methodical and well planned approach to the session made it successful, and allowed to the student to understand how everything fit together. She got the student to verbally walk through each step – which also highlighted the power of active recall in solidifying understanding, (and also so Annaliese could check she was understanding the working /the processes why they were doing what they were). The session was both effective and highlighted how essential patience and pre planning are when helping / guiding students through multi-step problem-solving and preparing for upcoming exams.

Shyla Gloster

I observed Noah’s Maths lesson with Eli where they were studying for an upcoming finals exam.

The lesson started with the examining of mathematical formulas including the surface area of a prism. They then started to practice this concept with a follow up to consolidate Eli’s current understanding.

Noah managed to continue to encourage his student when he didn’t understand or correctly answer the question, reminding him to return to the context and apply the correct formulas.

Noah kept asking questioning between each problem to make sure that his student was understanding every step they were taking. Even when the explanations for a bit confusing, Noah brought in physical visualisation techniques including using the tissue box and a paper cup to further explain the circumference and area of shapes.

Overall, Noah’s determination to revisit difficult contexts multiple times show his patience and lack of frustration to make sure his student completely understand the content before moving on. This is definitely important in grasping the foundations before moving on to complex questions. I found this lesson quite enjoyable to observe!

Samantha Nguyen

Hey Everyone!

Today I had the opportunity to observe Ashley’s primary lesson, which was super valuable! I was really impressed by her approach to primary students because she ensured that she covered all aspects of language learning at the same time. Her and her student worked through a series of words that she had for homework, but Ashley would ask different questions to check the students understanding. This included asking the student to read the word aloud, asking what the word means, asking them to put it in a sentence, and then covering the word and asking them to spell it. I believe this to be an effective method with primary school kids to work on multiple different aspects of English at the same time rather than just on spelling, reading or comprehension at one time. This gives them an understanding of the word in its context and provides variation in the lesson to keep them engaged.

When the student had difficulty spelling a word, she would help the student to break it down into sounds and ask what letters make each sound. This prompts the student to think about the structure of the word and work on learning how sounds combine. After the student had figured it out, she also gave examples of other words that follow a similar spelling rule. This was helpful for the student to further learn the patterns of sound.

One major challenge with primary students is keeping them engaged for the full hour. Ashley maintained the focus of her student by allowing for small ‘chat breaks’ throughout the session and then quickly bringing it back to the task at hand. She also allowed the student to relate the words that they were working on to things that she was interested in or could relate to.

This was a really interesting lesson to observe and am looking forward to integrating what I have learnt into my own sessions!!

Riva Burkett

Teaching methods that actively involve students in the learning process have a long-standing reputation for promoting deeper understanding and retention of material. One powerful approach is allowing students to “teach” the material to their peers and tutors. Research shows that when students explain concepts to others, they clarify and strengthen their own understanding, leading to improved academic outcomes and knowledge retention.

Studies in cognitive science demonstrate that active learning approaches, including peer teaching, enhance comprehension. This is also known as the “protégé effect,” i.e. a phenomenon where students learn more effectively when they’re the ones responsible for teaching and communicating the material. When students know they’ll need to explain the material, they engage in more thorough preparation and tend to gather more information relevant to the topic, thereby reinforcing their grasp of the content. This effect is further backed by research from Australia’s Monash University, which found that students involved in peer teaching showed improved retention rates and analytical skills, both essential for academic and career success.

Moreover, the Australian educational framework places a growing emphasis on collaborative learning and critical thinking, skills that are essential in today’s dynamic work environments. By teaching the material, students practise communicating complex ideas and build the confidence to approach unfamiliar problems. This peer-driven learning environment helps break down barriers between students and teachers, fostering a culture of open discussion and mutual respect, which can be particularly effective in diverse classrooms.

Tutors can support peer teaching by creating activities where the student can lead discussions or explain key concepts using teaching techniques, such as interactive materials (i.e. the whiteboard). This technique also allows tutors to step into a facilitative role, guiding and deepening conversations as needed, rather than simply delivering information. Over time, peer-led teaching has been shown to improve students’ long-term retention and self-efficacy, equipping them with essential skills for both academic and personal growth.

Emily Mackay

I unfortunately had a no-show for my HSC biology student this Thursday but I’ve had a few new Year 12s start the past couple weeks and they are both starting the HSC syllabus with module 8, which is kind of back to front, idk why they’re starting with that and not module 5 but nonetheless. This is my least favourite module mostly because there’s a lot of anatomy content to remember but I wanted to work on compiling some module 8 notes for my students to add to as we progress throughout the term and also for myself to understand/remember the content better so I can teach this content better. Although there are always topic areas as a tutor that you are less comfortable with teaching, I think its important that we try keep ourselves fresh and up to date with every area of content so that those content areas we are less confident with don’t also become the content areas that our students are less confident with. That being said, with teaching biology there is so much to remember and so I think its important that we teach our students how to be resourceful and how to find things out for themselves by showing them how to research content for themselves when they are not sure. I think its realistic that as a tutor you don’t know the answer to all of their questions straight away so its important to show how you go about problem solving and researching when you don’t know the answer. Anyway, yapping out of the way, I used this time to reflect on how I teach and familiarise myself with some of the content which I am less fond of.

Grace Apted

Today, I observed Olga and Elise tutor their students. I opted to observe these two wonderful tutors to recognise the niches between primary and high school tuition. Below are some of my key takeaways:

Attentiveness:
As primary school students tend to become tired throughout the hour, constant attention is integral. Elise was very attentive to her student’s mistakes and working out even when he was working independently. I admire how Elise was also able to read her student’s facial expressions that reflected his emotional state regarding the completion of more complex questions. Rather than asking him about his confusion, she immediately showed him the correct method for answering questions. Elise also kept the focus at the table by using the mini whiteboard and inviting him to write and add his answers on it. Olga mirrored Elise’s behaviour but utilised the bigger whiteboard to break down the working out. This ensured clarity when solving complex equations, preventing her student from becoming discouraged.

Engagement:
Elise ensured that the student was engaged in the lesson through frequent games of hangman to help correct spelling with a focus on vowels. Alternatively, Olga prompted her student to explain his working out and thought processes by asking him numerous questions. In turn, this ensured that the student’s answers and responses were more meaningful and allowed him to think more critically rather than guessing the answers. Both tutors also provided their student’s with an array of options on what to work on first meaning that the student has a degree of control and choice in the lesson, ultimately leading them to be more engaged in their learning.

Creating a comfortable environment:
I admired the tutors ability to address their student’s mistakes in a light hearted way that was also empowering rather than discouraging. By using a soft tone, acknowledging their efforts, the students were then comfortable and eager to hear the correct solutions to their questions and were more accepting of their tutor’s insights. Both tutors used encouraging and motivating language while celebrating their small wins with them. It was apparent that both students had a great relationship with their tutor as they were excited to share their interests.

Overall, these two lessons were very valuable in inspiring my tuition as a high school and primary tutor and I will definitely be implementing their strategies and approaches into my sessions.

Marina Nouris

Hi everyone! I had a last-minute cancellation today, so I had the opportunity to observe Sorcha’s primary English session with Chloe. It was a productive and engaging session, where they focused on English comprehension and narrative writing skills.

Sorcha started by checking Chloe’s homework, which is such an important technique. By reviewing the previous work, she could identify any areas where Chloe needed more support and build on what had already been learned. This step also allowed Chloe to ask questions and clarify any doubts she had, ensuring she was progressing steadily.

They moved on to English comprehension, where Sorcha guided Chloe in finding definitions of key words. She taught Chloe how to use context clues within the passage to deduce meanings and encouraged her to look up words she was unsure about. This was an excellent way to enhance Chloe’s vocabulary and comprehension skills, while also teaching her strategies that will be useful in exam settings. Sorcha made sure to go through each new word slowly, which reinforced her understanding.

Later in the session, they shifted focus to narrative writing. Sorcha emphasised the importance of creating a plan before beginning to write, showing Chloe how to structure her ideas logically. She explained how having a clear outline with a beginning, middle, and end helps to develop a cohesive story. Sorcha walked Chloe through the process of brainstorming ideas, choosing a theme, and building characters, making sure she felt confident about how to start. She guided her to create a detailed plan, encouraging Chloe to think about settings, language devices, and how to resolve the story, which made the writing process less daunting.

What stood out was Sorcha encouraging Chloe to ask questions and think critically, making the session both educational and enjoyable. By the end, Chloe had improved her understanding of key comprehension skills and felt more prepared to tackle narrative writing with a solid plan in place. It was a pleasure to watch Sorcha guide Chloe through these essential English skills, leaving her student feeling more confident and equipped for future tasks.

Eleni Nicholas

One of the strategies I’ve found particularly effective in tutoring engineering students is the use of problem-based learning (PBL). This approach immerses students in real-life engineering scenarios, requiring them to apply the theoretical knowledge they’ve learned. For instance, when discussing mechanical engineering principles, I often introduce case studies that require students to calculate load-bearing capacities or analyze stress distribution on a bridge structure. This contextual learning not only improves their grasp of the material but also enhances their problem-solving skills, which are essential in engineering practice. Another challenge I’ve noticed is that many students, especially first-year engineering students, feel overwhelmed by the fast pace of their courses. Tutoring provides a space for them to slow down, ask questions, and build confidence in areas where they feel less competent. Through one-on-one or small group sessions, I can offer personalised explanations and techniques, like breaking down complex equations into manageable steps or linking abstract concepts to everyday examples. In engineering education, where the stakes are high and the material is demanding, the role of a tutor extends beyond simply clarifying course content. It involves inspiring students to think like engineers—to approach problems analytically, consider various solutions, and recognize the real-world impact of their work. This not only helps them academically but also prepares them for the challenges and responsibilities they’ll face in their future careers.

Cameron Rolph