Description: Shayda is one of our incredible tutors that consistently goes above and beyond with delivering value. She is a real-life representation of our ethos, mission and culture and the values we strive for at Telios Tutors. Empathy, authentic edification and excellence are amongst some of characteristics that Shayda has demonstrated throughout her time with us. Here is a Q&A we recently conducted with Shayda.
What is your favourite thing about tutoring young people?
There are a few reasons why I love tutoring young people! Firstly tutoring young people is amazing as you watch them flourish and develop both in confidence and therefore ultimately through their studies.
The interaction that takes place with my students is most rewarding as they also teach me lots of information too. Also it is an honour to be responsible for really allowing students to see the beauty in learning and how the utilisation of this knowledge will give them the best head start in life!
It is also the positive feedback you receive as a tutor too, when I witness students expressing their desire to attend my lessons and how much they enjoy them it gives me a real sense of satisfaction that I am contributing to shaping someone’s future.
Give us some examples of some academic and personal developments you’ve witnessed as a tutor with your students?
So one of my students recently achieved a brilliant score of 85% on a SPAG English examination after previously underachieving at school. It was brilliant to see the student had understood all the content in our lessons and could then apply the knowledge to a higher-level paper!
Furthermore, one of my students was not very confident in their ability to read; now through encouragement and practise the student is reading higher-level content fluently and confidently.
In terms of personal developments all my students have really flourished in their confidence and have more faith within themselves which is beautiful to see and be apart of.
How do you ensure children are constantly making progress?
To ensure all my students are making constant progress in their academia I set a detailed and personalised homework consisting of multiple tasks every week to ensure the students are following up their lessons with comprehensive exercises to really make sure they have grasped all content.
Furthermore to ensure targets are being met I set a mini-exam monthly to record the student’s progress and provide feedback in regards to their level to both student and parents. I also make sure my lessons I plan are creative and engaging and I deliver them in a passionate manner that has always been received really well by both students and parents.
What do you think parents appreciate about you the most?
Parents tend to appreciate the idea that I am always available and punctual. I go above and beyond in terms of creating my own personalised homework weekly, marking homework quickly and providing both parent and student feedback.
I always ensure that I finish the lesson once all material planned has been covered and I am content with the student’s progress even if that means going over time! Feedback has been really positive from parents as they acknowledge the effort I put in to delivering engaging lessons.
You deliver talks on developing confidence in young people. What are some tips on how to develop confidence for those who are more reserved?
To increase confidence in young people and my students my top tips are:
- Appreciating the student’s effort no matter if they are right or wrong
- Cater lessons to their interest to enhance engagement
- Encourage their curiosity and ask students questions (this particularly worked well for my students and the bonus is you learn lots of cool information too as a tutor from your pupils J)
- Make lessons challenging and support them through content
- Mistakes are building blocks- ALWAYS
One of your students was particularly shy to start with. How have you encouraged them develop more confidence within themselves?
I think the key thing is to find what each and every student has a passion for. Whether it is animals, arts and crafts, cars etc, allowing students to take the floor space and really chat about their passions with constant encouragement from myself with prompting questions helps to develop their confidence and trust in you.
I have witnessed this in my own students, catering the sessions to their individual passions has aided their engagement and allowed their personal characters to grow to become MORE inquisitive about academia simultaneously.
What characteristics make a good private tutor?
I genuinely care about helping students and I also have a deep passion for my subjects I teach, this I think is most important to ensure success in your students! I have demonstrated this by always going above and beyond in the lessons and also out of hours, where I ensure I am available if my students require my help.
I also have vast experience in communicating harder concepts to audiences of variable ability through my university career and MSc which has greatly enhanced my communication skills and ensures success within lessons.
Due to the influence of my own tutor when I was younger I really appreciate the ability to have high expectations for all of my students, this is because every child has the capability to succeed and achieve more than just targets with the correct support network.
How do you help parents and children reach their goals?
I offer constant support and keep both parents and children up to date with the student’s progress, as well as providing parent’s feedback forms every week in relation to the student’s homework.
I also ensure I have regular communication with all parents to ensure that all parents are confident and happy with my approach and I am readily available to answer any queries they may have.
Thank you for all your hard work and dedication, Shayda! We acknowledge every bit of time and effort you put into helping your students at Telios Tutors.
Interested in working with Shayda? Contact Us Today.