Getting the most out of your tutoring sessions

We all want to make the most of things in life and that is just as true for both students and tutors when it comes to their lessons. If you either have a tutor coming to help your son or daughter to study, or if you are thinking of getting a tutor to help support your child’s learning over the break, here are some tips about getting the most out of the sessions so that they can be as productive and beneficial as possible.

The most important thing is to kick off with a thorough chat about what you would like to get out of tuition. Maybe there are some specific areas for revision; perhaps there are knowledge gaps; would you like help with essay structuring, or maybe you need some vocabulary expansion and a brush up on exam technique? It’s a really good idea to make a list, both for you and your tutor. That way you both know what the main focus of the sessions needs to be. As the weeks go on you should regularly revisit this plan.What has been achieved? Are there any new elements that need attention?

Preparation is key!

It is good to figure out what your ultimate aims are so that all parties are on the same page. Your tutor will then be able to help tailor a plan to reach those goals. Although not impossible, it’s very difficult to take a student from a D grade to an A grade in only a handful of 60 minute sessions! If you discuss the destination then together you can work out what the journey needs to be, so to speak.

A key question is: do you want your child to have homework from their tutor? Many students have busy schedules with after-school clubs and activities as well as school homework. An overwhelmed, overworked student isn’t a happy or productive one, so if you do agree that homework will be set then figure out when it will get done (a mad rush ten minutes before your tutor arrives is not a good idea…). A major plus for a bit of homework is that you can cover more ground and faster, but a reasonable balance must be struck.

Preparation is key! Keep all of the work that your child is doing with their tutor in a folder and have it – along with some paper and a pen so your child and tutor can get started straight away. Spending ten minutes at the start of a lesson looking for last week’s worksheets on apostrophes can set a lesson off to a bad start!

If you ever want to talk through any aspect of tuition with one of our consultants then give the Enjoy Education office a ring, it’s always a pleasure to speak to both parents and tutees.