Teaching your first private student can feel both exciting and daunting. You may worry about how to prepare the lesson, how to communicate topics effectively, and how to respond to student queries. Being an effective tutor doesn't require complicated techniques. It is far more important to be prepared for each session and be engaging and personable in your teaching approach.
The benefits of tutoring include flexibility and the satisfaction of passing on your knowledge to younger generations. This can include exam preparation, working on a weak topic, or starting a new subject. One-to-one tuition gives a personalised, specialised approach that students benefit from.
This guide will explore 10 tips for tutors starting in private tuition. These top tips will help you ensure your first lesson is successful as well as ongoing tuition, including preparation, building a rapport with students, and reflecting on your tutoring for professional development.
If you're considering where to teach, TeachTutti is an education platform that makes it easy to connect with students. We also provide support for ongoing tuition. Learn more about how TeachTutti works and get started as a tutor on the registration page.
1 - Set clear goals for your student
You should try to find out what the student wants to achieve before the lesson begins. You can adapt to new aims in the first lesson, but a general idea of the learning outcomes will ensure a focused and successful first lesson.
There are many reasons a student may want to learn with a private tutor. It could be preparing for exams, weak areas to cover in a subject, or learning a new skill, such as the piano. It could also be confidence-building and regular practice that helps the student feel more comfortable in exam situations.
Try to talk with the student or parent before the first session. This could include:
- Their current level, or school year
- What they are struggling with
- If they have an exam or qualification they are working towards
- Their short-term and long-term goals
For example, if you're working with students who struggle with algebra in the GCSE Maths curriculum, you could help develop their study skills through simple explanations and practice questions. Meanwhile, you would need to use a variety of teaching methods and interactive sessions if you're teaching a younger student who struggles to focus for long periods.
You can use these aims to set achievable goals and keep an eye on their progress. Having a clear outcome will help lessons to be structured and motivating.
2 - Plan your first session
Plan your first session with a new student. This will keep you organised during the lesson, giving you confidence. The student should get an idea of your teaching style, while you, in turn, should get a clear picture of their strengths and weaknesses. Keep the structure clear and manageable: avoid spreading the time too thin, and trying to cover too much content.
These are some suggestions for the first lesson content:
- An introduction so the student is comfortable
- A quick assessment of their current knowledge and level
- An explanation of the desired topic, with examples if possible and relevant
- Practice questions to test their understanding
- A conclusion at the end, highlighting what has been discussed
Try to use a few resources. This can include worksheets, example questions, or short exercises. They will have the added benefit of breaking up the lesson to maintain interest and focus.
Don't be too rigid in sticking to the plan. The lesson may move in a different direction than you anticipated, such as if the student wants to focus on a certain topic. The ability to adapt and improvise is an important skill for tutors.
It's a good idea to continue preparing for lessons following the first lesson. Advanced planning shows you are professional and invested in the student's education. They are more likely to be confident and engaged if they can see your commitment.
3 - Build rapport with the student
Having a strong relationship with your student is important to the learning process. The student will be more comfortable and supported. They will have the confidence to ask questions and will be more willing to answer questions or perform tasks without worrying about making mistakes.
At the start of your first session, take a while getting to know the student. You could ask them about their school, hobbies, how their day or week has been, or any number of subjects to help them relax. It's a good idea for this to be a constant feature of your lessons, not just because it takes time to get to know somebody, but it also helps to break up lessons.
Make sure the student knows they can ask you questions at any time. Students can also be worried about making mistakes, especially younger children, so stress that this is a normal part of learning.
These are a few suggestions:
- Listen properly to the student
- Encourage effort, regardless of whether the answer was correct
- Always be patient, especially when the student struggles with a topic
- Be positive and supportive
- Praise the student when relevant. Make sure you give a specific reason, not a generic one
4 - Simple and clear explanations
Avoid trying to explain too much at once. If a student struggles with a topic, they need clear explanations. The keyword is "bitesize": work through the concept progressively in small steps. Keep checking that the student understands and quiz them as you work through this process - don't assume their understanding. This will gradually build understanding and confidence.
Take the following steps:
- Explain the concept briefly
- Go through the topic in detail progressively
- Show worked examples during this process
- Give the student several problems on the topic
Be prepared to explain the topic in various ways if it is already a weakness for the student. You can also use visual aids, such as diagrams or real-world examples, to make it relatable.
5 - Ask questions
Asking questions needs to be a regular feature of lessons. It serves several purposes: the student stays engaged, you can check their understanding of the topic, and break up the lesson. Depending on the question, it can also make the lesson more collaborative, such as when asking for their opinion.
These are sample questions:
- "What is the next step in our answer?"
- "Why is this answer correct?"
- "Can you explain how you found the answer?"
- "Give an example of this concept in the real world"
This will develop the student's reasoning and let you see their thought process so that you can spot gaps or misunderstandings.
Always give the student time to answer. Some students will take a long time to answer, and may be working through the problem carefully and methodically before speaking. Unless it's due to a lack of concentration, rushing someone can affect their confidence.
6 - Fit your teaching methods to the student
No one learns in the same way. Every student is different: some prefer clear explanations and building their understanding gradually, while others learn best by doing, such as by working through practice questions. Others still may learn through a collaborative approach, discussing ideas with the tutor. Adapting your teaching methods is an important skill that will make your lessons more effective.
Observe the student closely in the first lesson to see how they learn. For example:
- Visual - The student benefits from diagrams, charts, or written examples
- Practice - The student improves thanks to regular problem-solving and exercises
- Discussion - The student needs to talk through ideas to cement their understanding
This doesn't require an overhaul of your teaching approach, which is daunting. Instead, it is about tweaking it to the specific student. For example, a young child may need visual aids and different resources to break up the lesson and keep their focus, while an adult may prefer to fully understand all aspects of the topic before they tackle questions, being more likely to be self-conscious of making mistakes.
7 - Structured and focused lessons
Having a clear structure will keep lessons productive. If you drift between topics, the student may become confused, lose focus, or feel overwhelmed.
This is partly avoided through having a lesson plan, as discussed in step 2. You should also explain what will be discussed in the lesson. It gives the student a clear sense of direction and helps them prepare mentally.
These are some possible lesson structures:
- Recap the content of the last lesson
- Explore the topic of the session
- Work through examples and practice questions
- Summarise what the student has learned
Generally, try to keep lessons to one or two concepts. The exception is when you are pooling all the topics together as you approach an examination. Students will benefit from close attention to one topic, rather than rushing through several in one lesson. Another benefit of structured lessons is a clear oversight of the student's progress, so you can both see what needs attention over time.
8 - Practice questions and examples
When you have covered a concept, you must allow the student to apply this understanding through questions or exercises. This could just be questions written by yourself, or past paper questions from their exam board, such as AQA.
This needs to be a regular feature of lessons to help students cement their understanding by applying it to a problem. A side benefit is that you can see if your teaching was effective in explaining the topic.
Start with simple questions to ease the student in. You can gradually move to more challenging questions, ending with past paper problems. Using a step-by-step approach to the problems will build confidence.
As mentioned, it's important to include questions that are related to real-world situations or are in an exam format. The questions need to be relatable if the student is preparing for an examination.
Ask the student to explain their reasoning as they work through a problem. As they build confidence, you can delay this until they have answered the question, when you are confident they need less help to spot potential pitfalls. It will help the student to think through each step clearly and methodically.
9 - Summarise and identify areas discussed
At the end of the lesson, summarise what has been covered. It helps to bring everything together, both for the student and yourself, ensuring the key concepts have been understood.
This recap could include:
- Reviewing the main topic of the lesson
- Highlighting important ideas or techniques
- Asking the student to explain a concept that was explored
You can also discuss what will be covered in the next lesson. It gives the student a sense of direction, confidence in their approach, and continuity between lessons.
Always suggest homework for the student between lessons, such as practice or revision. This could be covering questions on the topic just discussed, or preparing for the concept in the next lesson. It also emphasises the student and their responsibility in learning the subject, rather than just attending lessons.
10 - Professional development
It takes time and experience to refine your tutoring. It's a good idea to start out by reflecting on each lesson in a spreadsheet or notepad. This doesn't need to take long, and could be done on the journey home, if you were travelling to the student by public transport, for example.
Think about some of the following questions:
- Did the student understand the topic?
- Did your explanations work?
- Did the student lose focus?
- Were there any times when you lost control of your explanation of the topic?
- How could future lesson structures be improved?
- Were there any moments that you hadn't anticipated?
Reflections help you to adjust future sessions. Brief notes about each student also help, such as the topics covered, areas the student struggled with, and the progress they made.
Your teaching style will develop naturally as you gain experience and confidence. Reflections help to move this along and support your early development.
You can also explore Continuous Professional Development (CPD) if you are considering pursuing tutoring seriously as a career path. This refers to developing skills, knowledge, and experience through studying online or in-person courses related to tutoring. You can get certification for online courses, such as with CPD Online College, which includes safeguarding. This is an important consideration if you want to bolster your resume for school tuition applications.
Tutoring with TeachTutti
If you're ready to start tutoring, a good place to find students is by joining an education platform, such as TeachTutti. We are a platform that is fair to both the student and tutor, to encourage ongoing tuition. We are the only platform that doesn't deduct a fee from the tutor. Instead, we charge a capped 12% commission fee to the student, which is visible during booking for transparency.
Follow the link to learn more about how lessons work with TeachTutti. When you're ready, you can create a free listing by registering as a tutor. When your profile is complete, students can message freely with you and book lessons.
Final thoughts on becoming a tutor
Starting as a tutor can feel overwhelming, but adopting a few strategies can make the process manageable and your tutoring effective. Plan your lessons, understand your students' goals, and foster a supportive learning environment to make the students comfortable and engaged.
Try to keep explanations clear, encourage questions, and give the students plenty of opportunities to practice what they have learned, such as through practice questions. Keep lessons structured and finish with short summaries of what has been discussed so you can track progress.
Your confidence and teaching style will develop naturally over time. Support this development with reflections after each lesson, and consider continuous professional development if you want to commit to this profession.
If you're ready to start tutoring, you can register as a tutor with TeachTutti. Build your profile today to start receiving student enquiries.
