5 Important Lessons I’ve Learned as a Tutor

Ideas that aren’t at all limited to teaching

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I am a math and computer science tutor and would like to share some of the greatest insights I’ve gained from teaching. Being a tutor is fun and rewarding because it shows me things I know well, teaches me new stuff, and makes the things I don’t understand obvious. The following are ideas, concepts, and practices that have made my tutoring sessions more successful and more beneficial to my pupils.

The Importance of Listening

My assumption when I started tutoring was that I would explain most of the time and that my students would primarily listen. To some extent my assumption was correct, but I also found out that by listening to my students and asking them to explain the concepts to me, they improved their skills more rapidly and I was able to better assess the areas they needed to work on.

I also noticed that when I actively listened to them, as opposed to just lecturing, they perceptibly tried harder to complete the material. I suspect that when they felt heard, they felt more empowered and therefore saw themselves as people who could work hard with ease. By listening to people, I became better at responding to their needs. Also, by hearing what they wanted to learn, I was able to make the material…