What do you do/prepare on the 1st day of tutoring?

[Jenny_2108]

Hi, I will tutor maths in 3 days and its my 1st time tutoring so I don't know what to prepare lol
And the student's parents wanna see me and ask me questions as well so it makes me feel so serious

What do you tutor on 1st day? Give general idea about the course, SACs or go straight to the topic of the 1st chapter, explain then give questions for him to do? Any suggestions? Thanks

[nisha]

First day of tutoring, I generally like to get to know the kid. Ask them about their specific weaknesses they have encountered before and what they find hardest (this may not relate to a particular topic, but in a general sense).
Whenever parents want to see you, thats a good thing. It shows that they are interested in their childs education, so just be firm and confident. They aren't going to eat you up. Trust your instincts and tell them straight up any thing that you notice about the kid.
I would in the first 15 mins, give them a general overview and try to instil a bit of confidence in the student. Then dive into the textbook and teach. Set homework. Thats what I do.

[charmanderp]

With maths I think a general overview of the course is a good idea. It makes it a lot more tangible for a student if they know when various things are going to be taught and how they all link together.

[Jenny_2108]

First day of tutoring, I generally like to get to know the kid. Ask them about their specific weaknesses they have encountered before and what they find hardest (this may not relate to a particular topic, but in a general sense).
Whenever parents want to see you, thats a good thing. It shows that they are interested in their childs education, so just be firm and confident. They aren't going to eat you up. Trust your instincts and tell them straight up any thing that you notice about the kid.
I would in the first 15 mins, give them a general overview and try to instil a bit of confidence in the student. Then dive into the textbook and teach. Set homework. Thats what I do.

thanks a lot Nisha, your post helps me a lot. Yeah, I will ask him about his weakness on that day
So we give homework as well? I've never thought of that XD

With maths I think a general overview of the course is a good idea. It makes it a lot more tangible for a student if they know when various things are going to be taught and how they all link together.

okay, I will take your advice thanks Chemderp!

[nisha]

Yea, give homework. I suggest from a compilation of extra resources you may have (other textbook questions that may be harder, past vcaa exam questions, practise exam questions on that specific topic - so that they get used to the style) or you could just work from their school textbook but write harder problems in their exercise book.

[Jenny_2108]

Yea, give homework. I suggest from a compilation of extra resources you may have (other textbook questions that may be harder, past vcaa exam questions, practise exam questions on that specific topic - so that they get used to the style) or you could just work from their school textbook but write harder problems in their exercise book.

so I need to prepare some ques for homework?
But I don't know how good he is at maths, how about giving ques from easy to difficult level? What do you think?

[nisha]

Yea, give homework. I suggest from a compilation of extra resources you may have (other textbook questions that may be harder, past vcaa exam questions, practise exam questions on that specific topic - so that they get used to the style) or you could just work from their school textbook but write harder problems in their exercise book.

so I need to prepare some ques for homework?
But I don't know how good he is at maths, how about giving ques from easy to difficult level? What do you think?

On the first lesson, get to know him and give him a variety of questions. Then once you've established what he's good at and what not then focus on the weaknesses. Don't prepare anything just yet, save it for the 2nd lesson (if they stick with you).

[Jenny_2108]

On the first lesson, get to know him and give him a variety of questions. Then once you've established what he's good at and what not then focus on the weaknesses. Don't prepare anything just yet, save it for the 2nd lesson (if they stick with you).

okay, all good. If I have any ques, I will ask you on Mon

[Kanon]

I think it'd be good to
- give an overview of the course, talk about the four components and the general gist of things.
- ask him/her his weaknesses and provide any quick tips if you have any
- get to know him a bit better, I find I learn when better when I have a good relationship with the teacher (whether that be at school or with a private tutor)
- settle him down a bit and give some general advice on what to do

[Jenny_2108]

I think it'd be good to
- give an overview of the course, talk about the four components and the general gist of things.
- ask him/her his weaknesses and provide any quick tips if you have any
- get to know him a bit better, I find I learn when better when I have a good relationship with the teacher (whether that be at school or with a private tutor)
- settle him down a bit and give some general advice on what to do

great advice, Kanon. I'm gonna ask lots of ques to threaten him
*jks*
Yeah, I will get to know him better so he can feel comfortable and enjoy learning XD

[werdna]

For your first lesson:
- Get to know the student, as everyone else has said - hit it off, get the ball rolling, move past the awkwardness factor (if present) and be as friendly and personable as possible!
- Run through an overview of the subject and most importantly, set out your expectations of them - eg. homework, work ethic, etc
- Discuss your teaching strategy or approach and stress that you will tailor your teaching to their needs. Stress that you act as both a friend (don't get TOO friendly with them as it's harder to say everything you want to say to a parent) and as a mentor for the year.
- Encourage students to ask questions along the way, try not to bombard them with continual talking and create a balance between teaching and doing - BUT don't make them do too much work on-the-spot because they'll just think 'I could've done this at home for free'.
- Give them your contact details (email, phone, fb if you want, etc) and definitely set homework from the get go, as this gives them the impression that you are serious about their learning.
- When talking to parents, be approachable and honest. Don't say extra stuff to make it seem like you are worth the parents' money, and also remember to not focus on too many on the negatives - your role is to help facilitate students' learning and broaden their understanding etc, so offer parents ways to assist their children. If there is a good triangle of communication between student/parent/tutor great things can happen.

First time tutoring can be quite daunting, but once you get into the hang of it, I think you'll enjoy it!

Good luck, let us know how you go!

[Jenny_2108]

- Encourage students to ask questions along the way, try not to bombard them with continual talking and create a balance between teaching and doing - BUT don't make them do too much work on-the-spot because they'll just think 'I could've done this at home for free'.

so sometimes I should stop, let them ask me ques and don't just give work for them to do?

- Give them your contact details (email, phone, fb if you want, etc) and definitely set homework from the get go, as this gives them the impression that you are serious about their learning.

dw, their parents got my contact detail already

- When talking to parents, be approachable and honest. Don't say extra stuff to make it seem like you are worth the parents' money, and also remember to not focus on too many on the negatives - your role is to help facilitate students' learning and broaden their understanding etc, so offer parents ways to assist their children. If there is a good triangle of communication between student/parent/tutor great things can happen.

First time tutoring can be quite daunting, but once you get into the hang of it, I think you'll enjoy it!

Good luck, let us know how you go!

yeah, I haven't tutored yet but their parents emailed me like everyday to ask about year 12 stuff and textbooks.
I haven't talked to the student yet, just his parents only. They said they wanted me to help him and explain about school syllabus, ATAR etc
I hope I won't let them down
Btw, thanks heaps for your help werdna I will pm you how I go later

[werdna]

No worries, glad I could help!

Read the student's cues and you will know when they're having trouble and need help, don't wait for them to say 'I don't know...' or 'I have no idea...' because this lowers their confidence, jump in and take the first step to helping them. You don't want to give them too much work to do during the lesson, usually lessons go for only 1 hour so you don't want to waste time on things they could just do at home. Obviously let them do a few things here and there, but also go through questions together step by step. When I tutor English, for example, I sometimes get students to write a 5 minute introduction since this is what's necessary in the exam, but I never get them to write a full essay or full body paragraph (trust me, I've seen plenty of tutors make students do this). Students/parents aren't paying you to 'watch' them do work, you should help and provide inspiration and advice.

Also I get the impression that the parents seem like control freaks - try to get in more contact with the student when you start lessons, encourage them to ask you questions etc. Try to avoid having parents as students' mouthpieces, because often the parents are forcing things onto their kids etc. You want to build a strong relationship with every student, be personable and be as approachable as possible. Crack a few jokes, talk about non-school related things at the end of each class, ask them how they're going with year 12 overall, offer them general advice, talk to them over fb etc. You want to be half friend/half mentor. Obviously don't be TOO friendly because students will not take you as seriously, and you want to maintain some professionalism as well.

[IndefatigableLover]

Imagine if you were a student who was going to a tutor for the first time...
What would you want from them?
Have a think about it whilst you immerse yourself in their shoes and note what you would expect from a tutor.

Basically everything has been said (E.g Be aware of his needs, weaknesses, avoid awkwardness etc.) so if you do all the above then it'll be fine

so sometimes I should stop, let them ask me ques and don't just give work for them to do?

I find that when tutors ask questions (E.g Do you understand this) they tend to be ignorant and when the class is silent, they move on rather than test their knowledge on the topic that was just learnt to see if they understand it. This is just me personally but I would prefer if you jumped in (instinct) and asked if them if they're having trouble with the content.

I'd say after the first lesson, have like 'Starters' where you have a few questions they do at the start of each lesson to see if they have learnt from the previous lesson etc.

Good luck!

[Jenny_2108]

@ werdna: so if I give them ques to do in 3-5 mins, what do I do when they are doing ques except watching them? lol
Btw, do you think I should write some notes down for them like main ideas or just explain and let them summary what I say by themselves?

I will try to be half friend/half mentor but actually I found its more comfortable if we are like friends because the student can ask ques freely and say "I have no idea" easier