How to Make the Most of Your Tutoring

For many new students, it’s hard to know how to approach tutoring. Whether you’re catching up, streaking ahead or somewhere in-between we’ve got you covered. Below are 3 of the best ways to use tutoring to your advantage.

Come Prepared

For subjects like Maths and Physics, we recomend a questions-based approach. Math teachers are famous for giving out PLENTY of homework and doing it all is a struggle for even the most studious people. Students should attempt as many questions as possible and check their answers. Then, bring any questions that were too hard to the tutoring session and the tutor can explain how to do them. The advantage of this strategy is that working independently builds confidence and resilience and session time can be spent addressing only the most necessary topics.

Practice Makes Progress

For writing-based subjects like English or History we recommend practicing the whole writing process. Students and their tutors can use the school provided unit outline as a guide to predict what their assessment will focus on and have a practice run. Formulating an assessment-like piece allows students to deepen their understanding of the course content whilst also practicing research, planning, drafting and editing skills. In this strategy tutors usually use each session to help the student plan what they should do next and to discuss the work the student did independently. Students can take their time without deadlines or grades to add stress to the process, and if you start early there’s still plenty of time to get help with assessment later in the term. We wouldn’t expect anyone to get better at cycling if they only tried it once per term, and so it is with writing: the more practice, the more improvement.

Journey Over Destination

When starting any work at all seems too daunting, a close, slow and supportive approach can be taken. These students may bring their notes from school and go over them step by step with their tutor. The tutor can re-explain any tricky concepts and fill in any blanks. Students who have trouble focusing in class or who have missed considerable class time benefit from this approach. The tutor can also work through examples with the student and break down large tasks into smaller steps. This strategy, though time intensive, supports the student throughout the whole study process.

Conclusion

Tutoring strategies are as diverse as the students that use them. There are many ways to mix and match these approaches, and most students will have different needs at different times. In general, a mix of both independent and tutor-supported work should be undertaken to enable the most improvements in grades and confidence.