3 Tips on How To Find The Right Tutor
Tutor Qualities
When students are seeking a tutor, it is often easy to overlook certain aspects of the tutor’s qualities such as their personality or suitability to your learning needs. While there are no “wrong” tutors per se, it is important to account for these differences.
Instead of the “wrong” tutor, it is more accurate to say that there are bad teachers. Such teachers either demotivate the students’ learning drive or worsen the learning gap of students that are already sapped of their energy from catching up in school. In such cases, the tutors are the cause of the problem, and it is not quite the “wrong” choice of the student.
Therefore, this article aims to provide a guide for students to choose a tutor that is suitable for their learning needs.
- Expertise in the subject matter
A good tutor should have a deep understanding and knowledge of the subject they are teaching. They should be well-versed in the concepts, theories, and applications of the subject and be able to explain them clearly and effectively to the student.
Expertise in a subject mainly consists of two categories, knowledge, and functional understanding.
For example, an ideal tutor in the field of mathematics should understand why the equation is built that way (knowledge) as well as how it is used to determine calculations in a real-world application (functional understanding).
Similarly, an ideal tutor in the field of science should be able to explain the mechanisms of biology, physics, or chemistry. (knowledge). He or she should also be able to explain its usage in the world or what forms of progress and research are put in place based on these methodologies. (Functional understanding).
As a student, it will be easy to understand a tutor’s expertise by simply observing the lessons and what the teachers are trying to express. A teacher that does not answer the question directly and consistently may indicate a lack of expertise.
- Empathy and patience
Different students learn at different paces, and a good tutor should be patient and understanding. They should be able to adapt their teaching style to suit the individual needs of each student and be empathetic toward their struggles and challenges.
Most students are familiar with the frustrating experience of not understanding concepts. When paired with an angry tutor, learning can never be harder.
As a personal experience, I had once taken a Principles of Accounts tuition lesson. In that class, a few of the other students were well beyond the learning capacities of what was being taught. As a result, students having difficulties grasping basic concepts were often struggling to catch up and they would incur the frustrations of the tutor.
Contrastingly, in another lesson, I too struggled in grasping the concept of refraction in a glass block. The experiment required plotting the correct emerging light on the other end of the glass. However, in that lesson, the teacher was patient and guided me even when the class had ended.
At Achieversdream, the tutors are taught to be the latter, to value teaching according to the pace of each student. Additionally, exclusive excess to the lab is meant to allow students to experience practical lessons without the stress of teachers breathing down their necks.
- Accepts feedback and builds rapport.
While expertise and patience are two of the most important criteria I would find in a tutor, building rapport and accepting feedback is an additional plus point.
In the search for the right tutor, it is paramount to understand that tutors too are learning individuals. A good tutor is likely to be committed to their own professional growth and development. They should also be able to acknowledge that both tutor and students are in the process of learning.
At AchieversDream, this means taking on professional certification courses and enhancing current knowledge through refreshment lessons. This ensures that the teachers remain up to date with the current science syllabus.
Additionally, in their pursuit of professionalism, tutors should be equally open to feedback, willing to learn from their experiences, and constantly strive to improve their teaching skills and techniques. For a student, this means telling the tutor which parts of the lesson can be strengthened for your understanding or feedback about the pacing of lessons.
Such constructive feedback allows tutors to accurately adjust lesson plans.