As teachers, one of the things we are most sought out for is tutorials.  

Tutoring after regular class hours is easily one of the ways teachers earn secondary sources of income.  

Flashback to 2004 when I started doing one-on-one tutorials… I was new to teaching.  I was new to tutoring, and all I had was the courage and the confidence to wing it!  

Armed with a smile and enthusiasm, I worked hard, kept a learner’s mindset and stepped up to the plate.    

Below are six things that worked for me as I learned the ropes on the job.  

Whether you’re just starting out as a tutor or have been tutoring for decades, I hope you pick up a thing or two as you go through the list.  Things may be working out for you already with the systems you have in place, but read on!  After all, there’s always room for improvement.

 

Tip 1 – Communicate with your student’s parents

(and if possible, with their teachers).

 

Communicating with the parents should be a priority from the get-go.  

Schedule a meeting with them before you start tutoring.  Ask what their expectations are and what made them seek out a tutor.  From there, you will have an idea on how to support them and your students.

Discuss your hourly rates, preferred payment schedule and overtime fees.  Make these clear in the beginning.  

Give them feedback regularly.  

Yes, you are working for them but let them know you are working with them as well.  From my experience, there were days when there was just sooo much homework to accomplish, and getting the family on board to start where I left off was so helpful for my students.

Is there a way for you to communicate with your student’s teachers?  Perhaps you are colleagues.  If your students are unclear about certain tasks, you may approach or contact their teachers, as a way to help your students.

There was a time when my tutee was having a hard time completing his lab report.  I met with his teacher who was a colleague of mine to discuss the context of the task and performance expectations.  It was a quick 10 minute meeting but we were able to cover everything we needed to.  Well worth it!

 

 

Tip 2 – Set agreements with your student.  

 

Rules work for teachers but agreements ensure you’ve got your student/s involved.  

Invest time to discuss expected behaviors with them in the beginning (If you haven’t, and doing this will help, then go and do it!  It’s never too late!).  Agree on what these expected behaviors are.

Just as a list of agreements is essential in classroom management, so it is with tutoring time.  

For optimal productivity, you need to make them clear from the start.  Discuss expected behaviors.   Get them involved in creating agreements.  Hear them out.  

Discuss the consequences when they do not comply to set agreements.  Write these agreements and consequences down and refer to them when necessary.

 

 

Tip 3 – Collaborate with other tutors.  

 

This saved me a ton of time creating reviewers for my tutees.  

At one point, I was tutoring three students from different schools, each one from a different grade/level.  I was so grateful that a friend of mine included me in this email group where tutors shared  the test reviewers they made for their students.  Instead of creating three test reviewers during test week,I only focused on one subject area and emailed the test reviewer before the deadline.

Parents also share reviewers with one another through class e-groups.  

One of the mommies forwarded the reviewers to me via email, and I was able to use them for tutoring sessions.  You may ask your student’s parents about this!  

Other than sharing of reviewers, you may also tap other tutors for tips or advice on how to approach a lesson!  This is somewhat similar to what I said in Tip #1!  Collaboration helps!

Tip 4 – Make tech your friend.  

 

Inquire about access to assignments that teachers post online.  Some schools use apps (ex. Edmodo) to communicate and send assignments to students.  

If your student is having a difficult time understanding a certain concept, look online for material that can help them with it.  

Look for worksheets, if those will help.  One of the better online resources with free (and paid) teaching materials is Teachers Pay Teachers . Other than that, there are so many sites that post free videos or resources in almost all subject areas.  

 

Tip 5 – Be attuned to your students.  

 

Do a simple check-in before every tutoring session.  Are they hungry? Sleepy?  Let them tell you interesting stories about their day in school. 

What are their interests or hobbies?  Use the information to help them make connections or to capture their attention when you are helping them understand a lesson.

Assess their learning.  Know their learning style – visual/auditory/tactile?

Do you need to incentivize?  Will a behavior chart work for them?  Find out, be sensitive to their needs so that you may address them.

Sometimes, scheduling tutorial sessions beyond 6:00 PM is the only way to squeeze in another student.  Just be wary.  With some of my former students, 6:00 PM was when they crashed!!!  Tutoring them beyond that time was like pulling teeth or hitting a brick wall!

Many children nowadays have many extracurricular or after-school activities.  If the tutorials can be scheduled before their other activities, discuss this with the parents so that the kids still have energy for study time.

 

Tip 6 – Teach independence.  

 

Some students get the impression that they can wait for tutorial sessions to get school work done.  They lose their sense of independence and responsibility and rely on their tutor to initiate study time.  

I let my students know that one of our goals is for them to become self-directed in doing their homework.  Having a daily checklist for them to accomplish is helpful.  Here’s a sample checklist:

• Bring out two sharpened pencils and an eraser.
• Read the day’s entry in the school diary.
• Check items in the diary that you need to do as homework.
• Bring out the books, worksheets, notebooks you need for the tutorial session.
• Arrange everything on the study table.

 

What other tips can you think of to add to this list?  What can you share with other tutors out there?  Please feel free to share them in the comments section below.  

Are you curious to know if you’re already doing some or most of the things on this list?  Try out the checklist I made with Google Forms!  It will only take about 5 minutes to accomplish the checklist.  After answering the checklist, make a self-assessment based on your score!  Are there some points in this article you want to apply as a tutor?  

Or hop on over to get the free printable checklist by clicking this link: free materials!

I would like to hear from you!  Let me know if this article helps!  

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