In a few days I'll be tutoring a student privately for the first time (GCSE maths). Has anyone here done this before and got any tips? Engineering graduate here, for context.
>Engineering
maybe you should leave tutoring to the math pros
Listen to what the student is telling you. Too many tutors try to teach a lot of stuff that they find interesting, but that doesn't help the student directly. You can easily get caught up in passing on your knowledge, and forget that the most important thing is to pay attention to the other person.
It can help if you ask the person in advance what exactly they are looking for. Then you can brush up on the material as required.
Don't do the student's homework for them. Don't even consider looking at homework problems (unless it's problems that have been marked and returned). Make up your own, similar problem.
Also, try not to goof off a lot. Some polite conversation is okay, but if the student goes away having paid for an hour of your time and only gotten a tiny bit of knowledge for it, they won't be happy, even if they were the one initiating the conversation. They probably won't come back for a second session.
>>7639136
>implying knowledge of degree-level mathematics is required to teach basic algebra
First-year maths undergrad detected
>>7639153
That's useful, thanks. A lot of it seems like common sense, but I'm a just a bit paranoid that we'll get to the end of the hour and the student will say "I have learnt absolutely nothing today." Since this is the first lesson, I'm planning on basically going through some examples to judge what level they're on, find out what they're strong in, and make a start based on a rough plan of action. First lesson will be free anyway, because it's not fair to charge someone just for that
>>7639166
Private tutoring has a huge difference from teaching in class. Students are usually more cooperative and since its 1 on 1, you can just focus on what the student is having trouble with.
And do listen to >>7639153
You aren't teaching off a curriculum. You are tutoring.
As long as you know your shit you'll be fine.
>>7639153
I second everything said here.
Also, if you're not absolutely awful your student will probably say yes every time you ask if they have understood. The problem is, most of the time they *think* they have understood because they still haven't had the time to think about it long enough. After teaching something, always stop and ask some simple questions to see if they actually got everything right, especially if you know there is a tricky concept that is easy to misunderstand.
best tips on tutoring or teaching here on 4chan.. well who've had guessed?
>>7639036
I tutored quite a few GCSE students and they all struggled with the basics more than anything. Adding/multiplying fractions, simplifying algebra etc.
May be a good idea to cover basic stuff before anything else.
>>7639695
dont get stuck in the basics.
basics is what divides pros from wannabes, and everybody stuggles on them more or less.
keep teaching and their math skills determine the rest.
>>7639036
Surprised at the quality of replies in this thread.
Find out what exam board they are doing (for example AQA), and the letter code of the course. Print out the specification and a past paper to see where they are at currently.
(should be on the website - example: http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/mathematics/gcse/mathematics-8300/spec-at-a-glance
Don't use up all the past papers on them, however - they are good for the students own revision. Get a textbook (or tell the parents to).
Knowing the specification is first priority. Then comes anything else you or the student would like to cover.
Every so often give them questions on things covered a while ago so they don't forget.
Stress the importance of practising questions for their own revision. Some kids fall into the trap of writing notes for maths and bomb the actual exams.
Sources: helped my little sister with GCSE maths
tutoring is fucking easy, i was tutoring kids A-level maths whilst i was doing my A-levels (but had done normal maths A-level a year early because i did 3 maths A-levels)
the hardest part of it is not getting frustrated when they dont understand easy concepts, but all you need to do is make sure you are comfortable enough with the material that you can prove exactly why everything works when you explain it.
Yes, it's shit.
People who need tutoring either are (mostly)
a) capable but lazy/ADHD/bad discipline/emotionally unstable
b) incapable and/or dumb
And to people who'll tell me that I'm just a shit tutor: You'll eventually end up with a person who hasn't grasped math since the introduction of fractions and doesn't really care any way and who just got forced there by their parents, and you'll patiently explain everything for a whole hour only for it all to be blown away by the time you meet again next week.
It's a huge frustrating waste of time. Better sign up to be a tutor for college courses and engage with smart people who actually care about learning, and improve your own knowledge by teaching.
>>7639036
3rd year engineering undergrad here, started tutoring for the first time last month. Currently have 2 students on my books doing A-Level maths and physics.
Make sure you know what exam board they're on and then just go online onto the bountiful revision sites to see what the syllabus for each module is like.
Make a little crib sheet with a few problems for each topic and important discussion points.
A thing I've noticed a lot since I've started tutoring, is that the parents/students want a bit more than what you get in school and that usually involves showing some derivations/proofs for things e.g. differentiation, sum of a geometric series.
The most important piece of advice I could probably give you is that never ever show anger/disappointment in your expression when your student doesn't understand a topic you found easy when you were a student. It's the small things like these that heavily influence whether or not they find you a sufficiently adept tutor.
Holy shit, good thread.
OP here again, this has all been genuinely useful, which is surprising but I appreciate it. Got that lesson tomorrow afternoon - if this thread's still here I'll post an update
Bring a condom.
>>7642774
There's always one
>>7639036
>Engineering graduate here, for context.
1) Find a TA buddy
2) Suck him off
3) Ask him about it
4) ???
5) PROFIT
And you call yourself an Engineering grad
OP here, I just finished my first lesson. It went badly, it turns out I can't explain shit. Why am I such an autist?
>>7643759
Check out Polya's How to Solve It
