Everyone wants to maximize the benefits of any service they request, and tutoring is no different. Sometimes it can be frustrating if your tutoring sessions don’t meet your educational needs. Whether you’re turning to online tutorials or doing face-to-face meetups, it’s vital to ensure that every second you spend with your tutor is worth your time and money. For the tutorial process to be successful, both the tutor and the student need to be adequately prepared.
Here are a few of the things you can do to ensure you get the most out of tutoring sessions:
- Send Study Materials to Your Teacher Ahead Of Time
Doing this will allow your teacher to have a look at them to know where exactly you need help. By the time the study session starts, the tutor will have thought through the most effective ways to help you grasp the concepts you find difficult to understand. Sending materials beforehand will also help save time since the tutor can go straight to the point instead of having to ask you what you want to work on.
- Have Clear Expectations
Setting expectations before you start a session is the only way to ensure you get the most out of the tutoring. However, be cautious of the time it can take to learn certain topics. After all, you can’t always expect to have a full grasp of complicated concepts in 30 minutes.
To address that issue, ask yourself some questions and, together, with your tutor, develop a strategy that suits your expectations. Find the answers to questions such as:
- What is your current grade?
- What grade do you expect to get in the next exam?
- Which topics are hard to understand? Which ones are easy?
Remembering what your current grade is will help you become aware of your current performance and enable you to set realistic expectations for your next grade. For instance, if your current grade is C and you have two months until the next exam, you’ll be able to establish a plan with your tutor to help you get a B or even an A.
- Test Your Tools and Internet Connection
Most tutorials nowadays take place online. Online tutorial services offered by sites like TutorMe are easy to access and convenient to most students.
For an online tutorial lesson, be ready at least 30 minutes before the session commences. During this time, you can test whether all your learning tools are working and whether you have a good internet connection. Check to confirm if your learning software is properly working as well. This way, you’ll avoid frustrations and won’t waste time during the tutorial session.
- Show Up on Time
Being punctual for tutoring can help increase your productivity as well as the effectiveness of your learning experience. Time wasted at the beginning of a session can negatively affect the quality of the tutorial. Also, it could be instead utilized to ask and answer questions at the end of the session.
- Come Prepared
If you have some assignments, you would like assistance with, see to it that you bring the guidelines and the ideas you’ve come up with when you meet with your teacher. Sometimes it’s hard to know what your tutor wants, especially when there are no detailed instructions for the task at hand. Gathering all the necessary information about the assignment will help your teacher know what kind of approach to take for it.
- Have Questions Ready
Students have different levels of understanding, and that’s why private tutorials are essential. Coming with questions during the session will allow your teacher to help bridge any existing knowledge gaps.
Asking questions will also reveal where you are in the learning process and what’s hindering you from moving forward. It’s the only way your tutor can identify the concepts you don’t understand. Hence, they can explain the concept further and in simpler terms.
Having questions ready can increase the productivity of the tutorial session. It can help improve your grades as well.
- Get to Know Your Teacher
Knowing and connecting with your tutor will help create a conducive, tension-free tutorial environment. It’ll also ensure that both you and the tutor are a good fit. If you like your tutor, you’ll learn better. But if you find that the two of you aren’t suitable for one another, let them know and ask them to help you find another tutor. Your tutor should make you feel comfortable while you’re learning.
- Be Genuine
If you’re honest about your level of understanding, your tutor won’t waste time and effort teaching you a skill you’ve already developed. Let your tutor know what you’ve already understood and what you haven’t. Don’t shy away from speaking to them because being honest will allow the both of you to cover the syllabus more efficiently.
- Remain Focused
Focusing means being dedicated to the tutorial sessions. Avoid all distractions such as Instagram and Facebook notifications by turning off your mobile phone or setting it to Airplane mode. Make sure your learning environment is clean and quiet, too. Doing all these will result in a more pleasant learning experience.
- Be Active
If you find it too hard to stay engaged during the session, tell your tutor. You can ask them to give you an exercise to stimulate your brain a bit more. If your tutor uses a smartboard to explain a concept, you can decide to handwrite some notes to stay active. The idea here is to remain alert so you can benefit properly from the tutorial.
- Practice, Practice, Practice
This is especially applicable to mathematics or science subjects. During the tutorial session, see to it that you take a lot of notes. Later on, review them and try to solve the exercises on your own. This will help you assess whether you’ve understood the concept or not.
Final Thought
Tutoring, especially online tutoring, can be a great way to help you learn more, and there are simple steps you can take to improve your learning experience. If you send your study materials ahead of time, your tutor will be able to prepare well for the session. Having clear expectations regarding your tutorials can help you set achievable goals as well. The list is endless, but those mentioned above are the most essential tips you can follow to get the most out of tutoring.
