Description: This article briefly outlines the top 4 qualities you should look for when considering professional private tutors for your child.
What sets professional private tutors apart from others in the tutoring landscape is that tutoring is often their full-time career. This means that they are more dedicated and determined to see results in their students. Moreso they will go the extra mile to ensure academic success and improvement.
1: Previous Tutoring Experience
Having previous tutoring experience is a must when hiring a professional private tutor. Ask if they have a portfolio of all their previous students’ academic track records to see what levels of improvement they can offer your child.
Experience also ensures that the potential tutor will know in what ways they can help your child improve. You can base this on their previous tutees. There may be specific techniques or learning methods that they found useful for previous students. Therefore they can then apply this your child leading to the same excellent academic track record.
2: Various Teaching Styles
Professional tutors should have obtained a repertoire of teaching methods over their careers so that they can teach your child in the most effective way possible. Not all children learn in the same way and some learning methods may be more appropriate than others.
The tutor should be able to adapt their lessons to suit the child’s needs. For example, if a child prefers to solve problem questions and learn from examples, then the tutor should come prepared to offer appropriate resources in the form of worksheets and textbooks. This guarantees that the student is learning in the style most relevant to them, which will benefit them in the run-up to exam season.
3: Assessing and Reporting on Progress
Another quality that sets apart professional private tutors from the rest is that they should offer regular assessment and progress reports of their students. Some tutors simply follow the syllabus and plan sessions around what the student is currently learning at school.
However, a tutor’s ability to keep track of how the student is managing the content of their course is a good way of determining how future lessons should be planned. This could mean that the tutor will focus on a particular topic which the student is finding difficult, and ensure they are up to speed before assessment periods begin.
4: A Professional Manner
When hiring a private tutor, first impressions count. When meeting with them for the first time, perhaps for a trial lesson, take time to assess how they are as a person. Are they polite and courteous? Are they understanding and honest about their experience and teaching methods?
Many tutors often overestimate either their knowledge or teaching ability. This will ultimately lead to poor performance in your child over the long term. For instance, a good tutor may explain what teaching methods they find most effective. They can base this on the child and subject. Or they may outline to what extent they are knowledgeable in a subject. Being open and honest from the outset is a good indicator of professionalism in a tutor.
All of these qualities ultimately factor into what key considerations you should make when hiring a professional tutor for your child.
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