Get the Most out of Your Tutoring Sessions with these Tips
Tutoring can be very beneficial and help students get back on track, increase confidence, and achieve their academic goals. However, tutoring success depends on student engagement, commitment, and preparation. (In other words, accountability!) Here are a few tips and guidelines to help students get the most out of their tutoring sessions…
Bring Something!
Bring homework, a review sheet for a test, or even an already-graded assignment. If your tutor knows what you need to work on, you will get much more out of your session. If you have nothing to bring, at least have a topic in mind. Our tutors can find practice material for the session, but only if they know what you need to study!
Be Accountable. Put in the Work Before, During, and After Your Session
Tutoring is not a replacement for self-study, it is supplementary. Studying on your own before your session will help you to better understand your weaknesses. This helps you to know what you don’t know, enabling you to ask productive questions and get the most out of your tutoring sessions. Actively participating during tutoring sessions is very important. Ask questions when you don’t understand something! Don’t be afraid to make a mistake in front of your tutor. Nobody is perfect.
Your tutor understands that you don’t know everything yet. Tutors want to see where you are making mistakes so they can help you to fix them. If your tutor asks you to explain your thought process during a problem, they aren’t judging you, they just want to help. After your tutoring session is over you should continue to apply what you have learned. Make sure to complete any homework assigned by your tutor. If you find that there is something you still don’t understand, make a note of that and ask your tutor about it at your next session.
Define a Clear Goal for Each Tutoring Session
What is your goal for the tutoring session? Having a clear understanding of what you need to accomplish during your session is extremely helpful to you and the tutor, and helps to make the session productive. It also puts the student in the right frame of mind for the session. The goal should be clear – gaining a complete understanding of a specific topic for an upcoming assignment, prioritizing three topics that need reviewed before Friday’s exam, etc. This gets back to the student taking some ownership and “putting some skin in the game,” which contributes to an overall successful tutoring engagement.
Avoid the Fire Drill - Consider Tutoring Before the Situation Becomes an Emergency
If you or your child is beginning to struggle in a class, or even expects that they may struggle, starting regular tutoring as early as possible is a must. Starting tutoring early is an effective, proactive way to help students keep up in class and remain on-track. A late semester attempt to bring a bad grade up to an A, B, or even a C, is the equivalent of throwing a “Hail Mary,” and is very difficult. Our most successful students are the students who come in regularly over the course of an entire semester. We can help to cram for a test, but we find that your results will be much better if you have been working to understand the material – through disciplined study and tutoring – consistently throughout the semester.
Provided by one of our outstanding tutors, Tommy.
Whether you need help with Math, Science, Language Arts, History, or Study Skills & Strategies, we can help you get on track and stay on track. We start with an understanding of your goals, an assessment where you are in relation to your goals, and start with a plan that, if consistently followed, will lead to knowledge, success, and confidence.
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