If you can’t solve all of the problems your student presents you, you shouldn’t be tutoring the subject. Review the material you will be teaching before you meet with your student. If you’re unsure about something, don’t give your student the wrong information. Look up the right answer later and discuss that concept at the next session.
Ask your student about some of their favorite hobbies and try to incorporate those in your lessons. If you’re tutoring statistics and they like baseball, use baseball stats to help them learn.
Highlight the parts of the problem the student got right while correcting the errors to understand why it was wrong. Use phrases that emphasize the content they got right, such as “You did this part of the problem really well” and “The way you’re thinking about this is really smart. ”
Make your tutor sessions a safe space where there are no stupid questions. If the student is confused about anything, they need to clarify that before they can move on to other concepts. Some good questions to ask your students, “Does the solution make sense?”, “What exactly is the problem asking for?”, and “What techniques do you know that could help you solve the problem?”
Avoid using phrases like “this problem is easy” as this can intimidate a student who doesn’t think it’s easy at all. Ask your student some of these questions to determine if they have math anxiety: Do you feel helpless when working on math or taking a quiz/test? Do you think you’re the only one that doesn’t understand math and everyone else is smarter than you are? Do you second guess everything you do, hoping others will do the work for you?
Frequent feedback helps the student know what they understand and what concepts they need to work on. Encouragement is particularly helpful for students who have math anxiety.
Ask the student if they have any problems they specifically want to work through before beginning. Doing multiple examples allows students to make connections and understand the similarities between the examples, gaining a firm understanding of the concept.
If they get stuck, ask questions to help get them on the right track: What techniques do you know that might help you solve this? Is there anything about this problem that is similar to another problem you know how to solve? Make sure they write down every step of the process to determine where things went wrong if the answer is incorrect.
If they can’t figure it out, tell them why it’s wrong and offer suggestions on how to avoid making that error in the future.
For example: If the student has come to the sum of two unlike fractions, show them how to add two unlike fractions using variables or numerals as appropriate to their level of mathematics.
Avoid asking questions such as “Do you understand?” or “Does that make sense?”
Sometimes, kids can get caught up in the fact that the method you are teaching is not the way the teacher taught it. Let them know that it’s okay as long as they understand the fundamental concept.
Go through this whole process again with a new type of problem.
Make a note after each session about concepts that you taught and what the student needs more work on.
Integrate humor into a session to help the student feel relaxed. Choose a quiet space where you will be uninterrupted or distracted for the entire session.
Schedule each appointment at least a week in advance and confirm these tutoring sessions the day before. Be flexible with the material. If you scheduled certain material, but your client wants to work on something else, listen to them. Do not force your agenda on them because that’s what you planned for the day.
During tutoring sessions, all distractions such as phones/tablets/computers should be turned off and put away. Tutors and tutees should both abide by a code of ethics. [8] X Research source
Use the network of people you know to get the word out. Ask your friends and family to let their friends and family know that you are looking to tutor willing students. Use the internet to find new clients. Setup a professional internet page and include it on all of your written materials.
