Tutoring

Running a tutoring business allows you to bring education privilege to help those who may struggle to learn. With a tutor by their side, students can receive instruction that’s more suited to their needs. While it’s important that tutors know their subjects, there’s more to the job than that. For anyone to succeed in your tutoring business, they must possess the following qualities.

Patience

A tutor needs to be patient, as they will have all sorts of questions from students who are confused about concepts. Many of these will catch them off-guard, but they need to have a mature attitude and not chastise students for asking questions. If they have to routinely go over concepts that the students claimed to have grasped, then they need to address that. However, there has to be a tactfulness to how they handle these matters. When a student senses that a tutor is losing patience with them, they can be reluctant to get as much help as they need. Your tutors need to have a nurturing demeanor that makes students feel comfortable and capable.

Team Player

You don’t have to handle a football or wear a uniform to be a team player. In order for your tutors to help students, they have to understand the importance of collaboration. If you want to hire a good tutor, determine if the candidate is a team player when it comes to helping your clients succeed. Ask them to describe times in which they came through for someone, be it a coworker or a friend. They need to be enthusiastic about working with the student and anyone in their periphery, such as their parents and teacher(s) so that the student can reach the results they need to.

Flexibility

Students are expected to learn all kinds of concepts in order to succeed in school. There’s no reason that the same shouldn’t go for tutors. Your tutors must be flexible not only in their scheduling but also in how they work with students. Some will be easier than others, but they need to view them all the same, as students who will benefit from their instruction. When students succeed, tutors succeed.

Tutors need to have emotional intelligence as well as mental intelligence. It’s one thing to know a subject inside out. It’s quite another thing to be able to help someone who might be struggling to grasp it. When you hire people who care about their students, you’re letting the gift of education touch so many lives.

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Taking tests is one of the more stressful parts of being a student. Not only do you need to know the material, but you need to have your mind steady and calm so that you can perform your best. To do this, you should have a plan so that you feel confident when tests and quizzes are administered. Here are three things that you can do to make test taking less stressful and feel more prepared.

Take Practice Exams Regularly

One of the best ways to feel more comfortable is to take the practice tests and quizzes. There’s also plenty of research that backs up how and why practice tests are useful. By doing this, you’ll gain an understanding of how the tests are formatted and what kinds of questions are on the exams. You’ll learn how to pace yourself, too. Many textbooks have practice tests at the end of the chapter or in the back of the book. There are also many teachers that offer practice tests or extra work so that their students are able to do their best when the real test is administered.

Put Together a Study Plan

Studying regularly is important for retention of material. Too many students try to cram studying into a couple of days before a major exam. This is not the best strategy. Instead, you should make the habit of studying for each class at least a few hours each week. By reviewing regularly, you’ll remember more and be able to come up with the information more quickly when it’s time to take the test. Establishing your study schedule will also help you improve your GPA and time management skills, so carve out a few extra hours each week for review.

Stay Engaged in Class

Attending class isn’t a passive activity, and idly listening while the teacher talks is a missed opportunity. To remain engaged during a lecture, make sure that you are up to date on the reading material. Most teachers design their lessons to augment and add greater understanding to the concepts that are presented in the assigned chapters. Also, you’ll be able to take notes in greater detail so that you understand the material better. To stay engaged, you should also participate in class discussions when appropriate.

Taking tests can be many students’ worst nightmare, but if you prepare, you can have a fairly calm experience. Take every opportunity possible to review material and understand the test format so that when test day comes, you feel confident.

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Not everyone is excited to learn about science. The subject may be new to them or could seem difficult to comprehend at first. Yet, with all the amazing benefits and lessons science has to teach us, it would be a shame to let students give up just because it’s hard or confusing. Here are some ideas on how to help motivate your students to want to participate and keep learning about science.

Creativity Through Experimentation

Students can utilize their creativity by trying a fun science experiment. It can be suggested that they buy their own kits at the hobby store. You could even do an experiment with them to help demonstrate the concept you’re trying to help them learn. Science Bob suggests lots of simple ideas that can be done both in class or replicated at home to get younger kids excited about new subjects, but they could easily be effective for older students as well. Being creative will allow the students to be free to think for themselves and ask more questions to clarify their understanding.

Volunteer for Science

Volunteering for a charity someone is passionate about often gives their life more meaning. This is important for a job because if it lacks meaning it won’t last. For older students, have them do their research or give them a list of potential opportunities for them to explore in research, writing, or the environment among others. One Green Planet gives a list of great volunteer opportunities that almost anyone can participate in.  Let students know they can make a difference through hard work and dedication if they choose. They can even volunteer at the science fair.

Time in Nature

Exploring the natural world is a great way to inspire students to become involved in subjects like environmental science, biology, entomology, or chemistry. They can hike to study the geology of an area. Drawing plants and animals is a way to help them understand the structures of these bodies. Collecting bugs and water samples can be taken home and examined under a microscope or used for the beginnings of a project. Science is largely based off of people asking questions, so getting your students outside and curious will help them to ask questions of their own.

Go to the Zoo

Aside from being a fun opportunity to see exotic animals, visiting zoos and aquariums is a great way to get kids interested in biology and zoology. Make the experience especially educational by reading the descriptive signs next to each exhibit, and play games like making the kids guess what type of habitat each animal prefers based on its physical attributes.

Encourage Reading and Documentaries

Ask students to read a book or magazine that they’re interested in. A few examples of magazines with science articles are Discover, Smithsonian, and National Geographic. Science documentaries are educational and can be exciting for their artistic approach. Films to consider are Colliding Continents, The Strange Case of Peking Man, and Living in a Parallel Universe. Art has the power to inspire a person to live out their dreams.

Visit a Space Center

One of the most exciting ways to motivate students to love science is to encourage them to visit a space center. Budget.com describes the Johnson Space Center’s exhibit in detail and it even includes a space shuttle replica, a lunar module, and other exhibits that are fun and educational for all ages. Or perhaps traveling to other museums such as the Air and Space Museum in Washington DC could be even more exciting with the opportunity for students to even try astronaut food in the gift shop. Students can feel the wonder and energy of outer space by viewing amazing science exhibits, see an awesome show or maybe even meet an astronaut. Viewing the reality of science up close will help to make it more real.

Whatever you do, trying to make science fun for your students won’t go unnoticed. This includes incorporating technology and its advances. Connections Academy says that technology can be helpful and improves our daily lives. Let it improve your daily way of teaching students the benefits of science. Students can tell when you’re making a real effort to help them understand something, and they’ll reciprocate by doing their best to improve their understanding as well. Speak to them enthusiastically, so they feel excited. Encourage them through inspirational words, meaningful actions, and involvement. For more tutoring tips and tricks, check out our blog!