How to Be an Effective Tutor

High quality tutors are a student’s best resource for obtaining assistance outside of the classroom. As a tutor, it is their duty to provide excellent service and experience to grow their student’s knowledge and understanding. There are some specific qualifications and personal attributes needed to be an effective tutor.

Establish expectations

The students seeking out tutoring need to understand they will not be experts overnight. They also will not see their grade change dramatically after the first tutoring session. Building understanding and proficiency may take time. Additionally, depending on the state of their grades, it may take more time to bring poor grades up.

Know the student

Not every student learns the same and a great tutor will take that into account. When tutoring, the same techniques or lesson plans should not be applied to all students. The reason they are there is to receive personalized, individual help and they deserve to get it.

Lay Ground Rules

Just like a classroom, a tutoring environment should have rules. It is important to have structure and to stick to it. Those rules are in place to help the student stay on track, get the most out of the session, and give the tutor hard lines to refer to in order to keep the session going well. These rules should be discussed and agreed upon by the student so that both student and tutor are on the same page.

Build and Maintain Trust

A student needs to know they are in a safe environment and that they can trust their tutor to do right by them. Tutors are committed to success of their students and that mutual trust should be there. Be willing to adjust your teaching style to help them and refrain from condescension. Negativity does not breed success and will ultimately hurt the student.

Give Positive Feedback

By giving positive and consistent feedback, the student knows how they are doing. They can use this to evaluate their own success and recognize that they could be doing better. Tutors should also encourage and let their students know when they are succeeding. This encouragement will only have them work even harder!
Tutoring should be a fulfilling experience for both student and tutor. The student should be gaining a greater understanding of subject material and the tutor should be seeing their attention and care having a positive effect on the student. Tutoring will not always be easy, but it will always be rewarding.

The 8 Steps You Need To Take To Become A Tutor

Do you excel in a school subject? Do you enjoy helping others learn and grow? If you answered yes to both of these questions then entering the world of tutoring could be an extremely exciting way to spend your time. As a tutor, you will have the ability put your expertise to good use and help someone reach their full potential. If this sounds interesting to you, but you do not know where to begin, I am here to help. Here are 8 steps that you can take right now to become a tutor.

1) Prepare To Teach

If you are interested in becoming a tutor then chances are you already know what you would like to teach. However, if your expertise is broad, covering a vast array of topics in one particular subject, try focusing in on your favorite disciplines.

2) Gain Recognition

As you look to grow your client base, it is very helpful if you have achieved recognition of your qualifications. A degree or other official documentation will likely be necessary to show parents that you are in fact an expertise in that topic. If can also be helpful to participate in online forums or write articles for relevant journals as you look to establish yourself as an authoritative voice in your disciple.

3) Consult An Attorney

If you want to tutor school children then there will likely be rules and laws concerning your area. Make sure that you have consulted with an attorney to make sure you are doing whatever you need to do to stay within the law.

4) Understand The Curriculum

Familiarize yourself with the curriculum or syllabus that you are going to teach. This will help you maximize the effectiveness of your lesson plans. You should prepare your lessons and then practice them. This will help you stay organized and know exactly what needs to be done each lessons.

5) Make Your Lessons Interesting And Interactive

Children tend to have short attention spans, especially when it comes to studying. That is why it is up to you to make a good lessons that students will enjoy. If you spark their interest in the topic it will open them up to the wonder of discovery. Instead of dreading a tutoring session, they will come in with a desire to learn.

6) Put Your Name Out There

Now that you have built the foundation of what you would like to teach and have the tools and place to help children exceed in the classroom, you need to get your name out there. Advertise your services online and make sure people know that you exist.

7) Sign Up For PayPal

If you are going to go into business for yourself, it can be very helpful if you open a PayPal account. Why is this the case? Having the ability to offer credit card payments could be the difference between getting a client or not. It is extremely convenient for both parties.

8) Talk To People You Know

Speak with your friends, family, and colleagues about your tutoring services. Offer them a discount if they tell their friends, or volunteer to tutor for a little while so that they can test you out and you can build a solid reputation in your area.

ACT vs. SAT: What Is The Right Test For You?

DavidSeffTutoringThe ACT and SAT have both rolled out some changes recently, changes which have made the tests much more similar than ever before. However, these changes do not mean that the ACT and SAT are interchangeable tests. There are still a number of important differences between the two tests. Depending on your personal testing style, you will likely score much better on one test over the other. That is why it is important for you to understand the advantages and disadvantages of each test so that you can get the highest score possible.

What To Figure Out Before Diving Into The Specifics:

What Do Your Top Choice Schools Prefer?

While a number of schools accept both tests, there are some that still only accept one or have a strong preference for one test over another. If the schools that you are interested in have a strong preference for one of the tests, then you should focus all your efforts on the test that will be most readily accepted by your schools of choice.

What Is Your Application Timetable?

Both tests are offered at certain times of the year. However, the SAT offers many more opportunities to take the test over the course of the year. To ensure that you are properly prepared to take the test, you may want to choose the test that will provide you the necessary amount of time to prepare for the test.

Take A Practice Run

While this advice can help guide you in the right direction, you should not make any final decisions until after you have actually taken a full practice test. Although you will have to devote a lot of time towards taking and scoring these practice tests, you will definitely thank yourself for putting in the time at the beginning. You will be spending a considerable amount of time studying for the exam, so you might as well figure out what test you like more and are better at already.

Here Are The Important Distinctions Between The ACT And SAT:

Precision vs. Generalization

The ACT places a greater emphasis on discrete information while the SAT looks to highlight the student’s ability to generalize information. These principles are not absolute on either test; you will need to do a little of both on each test. However, if you are stronger at one over the other, you may be more inclined to take the test that emphasizes these strengths.

Reading Comprehension Speed

For each passage in the reading section on the SAT, you will have about 13 minutes to answer 10 questions. On the ACT, you will only have about 8½ minutes to complete the same number of questions. If you struggle with comprehending the meaning of a reading passage, the SAT may be the better test for you.

Science

Even though the SAT had a major overhaul, they still did not add a science section. If you have performed well in your science classes at school, then you should capitalize on this strength by taking the ACT. Furthermore, if you are looking to go into one of the STEM fields, the ACT gives you the opportunity to showcase your skills in ways the SAT does not.

Test Pace

The ACT (215) has a lot more questions than the SAT(154). The SAT also gives you more time: 180 minutes total (plus 50 for the essay) compared to 175 minutes (50 for the essay) for the ACT. With that in mind, the SAT definitely has a much slower pace to it, while the ACT will have you moving through the questions at a faster pace.