First Education

I was given the wonderful opportunity to observe Pamela tutor her Year 8 Math student.

Pamela began the lesson by checking on her student’s progress in school which led them to work on the claw method to expand brackets in algebra. Pamela began by using the board to explain in depth the method for solving questions involving this process. Initially, her student was met with uncertainty about multiplying letters and negative numbers. However, Pamela was so helpful in breaking down the process and colour coding the working out for her student to see clearly and understand. After providing the steps for the working out, she independently allowed her student to progress and finish the rest of the question. After following this process for a few questions, her student’s confidence gradually increased. Pamela’s patience and reassurance throughout also enabled the student to feel more motivated and open minded to completing more difficult questions. Pamela was also very attentive to her student’s progress where she was able to register her student’s uncertainty and unease while completing the questions. This ensured that the student didn’t become distracted from the lesson and disengaged from the content. Despite her student’s tiredness after school, she effectively kept her student’s attention by asking about things he was looking forward to at school while also reflecting on enjoyable activities he did throughout the holidays. Overall, Pamela did an amazing job at keeping her student’s focus on the lesson and created a comfortable space for her student to ask questions and express his concerns regarding the content taught.

Well done Pamela!!

Marina Nouris

One of the most valuable aspects of tutoring is the ability to provide immediate and meaningful feedback. Unlike in a traditional classroom setting, where students might have to wait days or even weeks for a response on their work, tutoring offers a unique opportunity to guide students in real time, helping them refine their understanding and build confidence.

Effective feedback goes beyond simply pointing out mistakes, it should be constructive, encouraging, and focussed on growth. Recently, I worked with a student who had been struggling with essay writing. They’d received low marks on previous assignments and felt quite disheartened, believing they just weren’t “good at English.” Instead of merely correcting errors, I focused on highlighting what they were doing well and offering targeted suggestions for improvement.

For example, rather than saying, “Your argument is unclear,” I reframed it as, “You’ve made an interesting point here, but how might we expand on it to make your argument even stronger?” This small shift in approach helped the student view feedback as a tool for improvement rather than criticism. We also worked together revising their work, discussing why certain changes made the writing clearer and more effective.

Feedback is most powerful when it is specific and actionable. Instead of general comments like “Work on your structure,” a more helpful approach would be, “Your introduction sets up your argument nicely, but let’s try make sure each paragraph clearly links back to your thesis.” This kind of targeted guidance helps students understand exactly what they need to do to improve.

Ultimately, feedback in tutoring is about building a student’s confidence and ability to self-correct. By making feedback a positive and interactive process, we can help students develop the skills to assess their own work, take ownership of their learning, and approach challenges with a growth mindset. In the end, good feedback doesn’t just boost academic performance, it empowers students to become more independent and resilient learners.

Isabella Naumovski

Different tactics can have a big impact on how students learn math, especially for primary school children. Not all students learn in the same way, so offering different approaches can help everyone find what works best for them. Some students might prefer visual tactics, like drawing pictures or using number lines to solve problems. This can make math feel less abstract and more real to them. Others might do better with hands-on activities, like using blocks or counters to count and solve problems. This method helps them physically see how numbers work together.

For some students, simple shortcuts or memory tricks work wonders. Things like rhymes or patterns can make learning multiplication tables or addition facts easier to remember. For others, breaking problems into smaller, more manageable steps might be the best way to handle tricky tasks. These small wins can build confidence and make bigger challenges feel less overwhelming.

It’s also important to keep math fun. Games and puzzles can turn learning into a playful challenge, which keeps students interested and motivated. When math is presented in different ways, students can try out what feels best for them. This flexibility makes learning more engaging and allows students to build their skills at their own pace. Offering various tactics helps students see math as something they can enjoy and succeed at, no matter their personal learning style.

Elise Petritsis

I had the opportunity to observe Riva’s session, where she guided a Year 5 student through the concept of BODMAS. Throughout the session, Riva effectively broke down the steps involved in BODMAS—Brackets, Orders (indices), Division, Multiplication, Addition, and Subtraction—ensuring the student understood the correct sequence of operations. She used clear explanations and relevant examples to illustrate how each step should be applied when solving mathematical expressions.

One of the standout aspects of Riva’s teaching approach was her enthusiasm and positive energy. She created an engaging learning environment, using an encouraging tone to uplift the student and make maths feel exciting rather than intimidating. She praised the student’s efforts and provided constructive feedback, helping to build their confidence. Whenever the student encountered difficulties, Riva patiently guided them through the problem, reinforcing key concepts and encouraging critical thinking.

Her ability to simplify complex ideas and maintain an interactive, supportive atmosphere contributed to an effective and enjoyable learning experience. By making the session both structured and engaging, Riva ensured that the student not only grasped the concept of BODMAS but also developed a more positive attitude towards mathematics.

Jordan Udler

Speech refers to the way that children pronounce sounds and say words. By 5 years of age, children should be 90% intelligible. They may continue to replace some sounds like ‘r’ with ‘w’ e.g. ‘wed’ for ‘red or ‘th’ with ‘f’ e.g. ‘toof’ for ‘tooth’. By 7-8 years old, they should be making all sounds correctly (except for dialectal variations e.g. in some dialects ‘th’ is always pronounced as ‘f’).

Language refers to how a child is able to put words together to communicate. Children in kindergarten should be using sentences at least 4-5 words long. They should be able to use basic present, past and future tenses. They should be able to follow 3-step directions and use/answer ‘wh’ questions.

Blank’s levels of questions are a good way to gauge how well a kid’s comprehension and higher-order language are developing. By 5, they should be able to answer all 4 levels of questions.

Most children learn to read by 7 years old. However, there are many pre-literacy skills that they develop earlier that are foundational to their literacy development. In kindergarten, child should be able to recognise most letters, the sounds they make and begin to write some letters with correct formation. They should be able to syllabify words, show some familiarity with rhyming and identifying the initial sound of words. They should also have some print awareness i.e. we read from left to right, top to bottom. If any of our kids are not meeting these milestones, this might be something to flag with parents.

Finally, an interesting thing I learned about teaching development. Most of us probably learned to read using a ‘whole language approach’, which basically involves ‘guessing’ the words that are on a page using clues from the pictures. Hence, the unit of learning is ‘words’. However, this approach to learning to read has been discredited. Research has shown that reading requires explicit teaching of sound-letter matches, and it is not a skill that we are innately designed to acquire (as opposed to talking, for example,) which is interesting to think about.

Hope this helps!

Derus Kung

Today, I had the privilege of observing Demetria and the Year 10 Maths student. There were 3 things in particular that stood out to me during this session.

Firstly, Demetria’s strict but considerate attitude. She consistently made the goals of the session clear, remaining focused and being transparent both with her instructions and behavioural expectations. This attitude helped set the atmosphere for a successful lesson.

Similarly, the interplay of technology and non-digital means used throughout the lesson. Knowing her student had been previously distracted by his laptop, she opted for a combination of handwritten activities and questions as well as using his device for consolidation.

Finally, Demetria’s guidance and words of encouragement. At all points in the lesson she continued to uplift and support her student even if he struggled. This nurtured an environment for growth while also allowing for the student to become more comfortable coming forward with any areas of difficulty.

Katerina Vrahnos

Whilst the student I was supposed to cover for did not show up, I still learnt a lot about tutoring through an observation. I am still quite new to tutoring at first education, as this was supposed to be the second time I tutored someone, so I found that this observation was really useful. I sat in on a Year 9 Maths Tutoring lesson, and they were learning financial maths.

One of the key things I learnt from this lesson was the importance of consistently encouraging the student being tutored, especially when they get a question wrong, and congratulating them when they do something right. This was really good for the student as it prevented them from becoming frustrated, discouraged and not wanting to learn anymore, especially when they are so close to getting it right. Sometimes they need the extra push!

Another thing I noticed the tutor doing was highlighting and emphasising the formulas. They did this both when the student did not quite understand the question and even if they got the question. This is helpful as it ensures that it is reinforced in the students’ heads and that they will not forget it. Further, the tutor also explained how the formula worked and the logic behind it. I found that this was very beneficial as it helps the students to deepen their understanding of it, and therefore, they will be less confused and less likely to forget it. If the student still was not completely confident, they reinforced their understanding through worked examples, or through explaining it in another way.

Altogether, I learnt a lot from observing the year 9 maths class, which, especially as a new tutor, will help me to work to the best of my abilities moving forward.

Katreen Diab

The second student I was booked to cover for also didn’t show up, and I did a second observation, learning different things from watching a different tutor. I am still quite new to tutoring at first education, as this was supposed to be the second time I tutored someone, so I found that having this observation was really useful. I sat in on another high school Maths Tutoring lesson, and they were learning financial maths.

Through watching in on this tutoring lesson, I learned that it can be important to challenge the student when they are capable of going further. For example, asking them to do it without a calculator, or to use a different method to figure out the question. Challenging the student can also come in the form of allowing them to figure out their own mistakes and questioning if they know what they did wrong. By watching the session, I learnt that allowing the student to spot and correct their own mistakes is crucial for their learning development as it means that they are starting to understand it.

Another thing I picked up during the tutoring session was that sometimes it is ok to take a small break. About halfway through the lesson, when the student started to become unfocused and restless, they took a 5 minute uno break. During the break, his concentration started to pick up again as he was engaged in a fun activity. I also noticed that after the break, when they got back to the lesson, he was more focused and ready to learn.

Altogether, through watching the lesson, I was able to learn about challenging the student and the importance of taking a break if the student needs one. This will be able to help me with tutoring in the future.

Katreen Diab

Kassandra was taking Andreas for Mathematics Year 10 and teaching Financial Maths. He is a relatively new student for Kassandra, and since this was the start of the year, this session was a revision lesson to observe how well Andreas understood the concepts of Financial Maths as a starting point to work forward for future sessions.

Kassandra spent a decent time communicating to Andreas the concepts she wanted him to understand, and then have him ample time for individual work to allow him to apply his problem solving skills to questions on his own in silence.

It is important for me to remember that students need revision sessions every now and then to make them a well rounded student. As I have tought this content for many years, I can recall it easily but a student who covered it even a few weeks ago, might have forgotten. Moving forward, I will aim to prepare some revision lessons to both boost the confidence in the students on the content they know, and ensure the concepts they learnt have stuck.

Sebastian

Staying focused while studying can be rough. One second you’re reading your notes, the next you’re deep into TikTok wondering how you got there. But with a little effort, you can actually train yourself to concentrate better and get through your work without it feeling like a total battle.

First things first, your phone is probably your biggest distraction. The best way to deal with it? Get it out of sight. Put it in another room, lock it in a drawer, or even use one of those timed lockboxes if you have zero self-control. Out of sight, out of mind. If you really need your phone for study, try an app like Forest where a little tree grows while you work. If you leave the app, your tree dies. Sounds dramatic, but it’s surprisingly effective.

Another great way to stay on track is setting up a reward system with Forest. The longer you stay focused, the more trees you grow, eventually building an entire forest. It turns studying into a challenge where you actually feel accomplished instead of just drained. Plus, the app even lets you plant real trees with the points you earn, so you’re helping the environment while smashing your study goals.

At the end of the day, it’s all about making distractions harder to access and using tools that keep you motivated. You don’t have to rely on willpower alone. Just set yourself up for success and staying focused gets way easier.

Eireyna Papinyan