Top Tips for Tutors

Please use this page in addition to the Best Practice for Tutors blog, written by Nick Strugnell and available here.

Our Team have enjoyed the opportunity to observe tutors on recent courses and have noted down some of the best practice that they have observed. We wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for providing the high quality of tuition that we strive for and to share some of those best practices observed. We will continue to add to this course on course, so please do check back here for updates.

Best Practice from the Summer Course 2025

Ongoing.

Be sure to ask lots of questions and, most importantly, give students enough time to provide a thought out answer.
Think about presenting yourself in an enthusiastic and highly interactive way to encourage student participation.
You might include phrases like ‘we work around you’ to emphasise the student-led nature of the classes, and to put students at ease to ask questions, suggest their own areas for focus etc.
Try to create a calm, focussed working environment for the student, accommodating any needs.
Phrases like ‘well remembered’ or ‘it doesn’t have to be perfect’ could be encouraging and help to reassure the student if they seem uncertain.

Best Practice from the Easter Revision Course 2025

Use good targeted questioning and positive encouragement to ensure students are addressing misconceptions and to bring out the best in the students.
Make effective use of the whiteboard to secure knowledge and understanding, and reference prior knowledge through the use of the whiteboard.
Refer to the students’ names directly to enhance and develop the learning relationship.
Use appropriate questioning to extend and develop the student’s understanding. Challenge students to think and develop personal responses and ideas.
Emphasise key learning points and guide the student regarding key information for the exam requirements.
Facilitate a learning atmosphere that is fully supportive and collaborative to result in high quality learning.
Provide detailed feedback for improvement.
Where appropriate, make use of a real life analogy to enhance understanding.
Proactively use the whiteboard in a clear and eligible way – use of colours, diagrams etc. Even encourage student use of the whiteboard.
Focus on speed of delivery – allow the students time to catch up and process explanations. Check in with them regarding the pace.
Engage in an environment of 2-way conversation.
If necessary, provide alternative ways of working through problems or exercises.
When relevant, maintain a good balance between broader subject curiosity and syllabus content.
Help the students to mark their own work, as a way of clearly demonstrating what they had done well, and helping them understand areas for improvement.
Try to take on a different approach if a student is confused, change tact – go for something visual/creative perhaps.

Best Practice from the Spring Half Term Revision Course 2025

We included this point in our Best Practice from the Christmas Course, but we note it again here – provide an initial introduction to the student(s) as to who you are, create a relaxed and engaging environment and set the tone for the lessons – these are student led, and students should feel comfortable to take the lead. Giving them an insight into your expertise may give them increased confidence in your ability to help them.
Asking follow-up questions for certain topics as a good way of continually testing the student’s knowledge, enabling the tutor to be responsive to the students learning and current understanding. Combined with using real-life examples as a good way to contextualise the topics and reinforce understanding.
When going through student work it can be useful to use multiple colours to highlight different areas.
Language tutors may wish to welcome their students into the class speaking and interacting in the specified language. This may subtly build confidence for the student to feel more natural in being able to converse in the language.

Best Practice from the Christmas & New Year Course 2024/25

Start the classes in the right way – introduce yourself, let the student(s) know who you are. Set the tone for a friendly learning environment – put the students at ease, willing to ask questions when they need to.
Regularly ask questions to highlight the areas that the student has and hasn’t understood and to ensure that they are engaged and focused. Work with the student when their understanding is not quite correct. Try to work at their pace also, check in with them, questions like ‘are you ready to move on?’ worked well here. Keep things steady and regularly check in with the student’s understanding.
Sometimes it can help to understand what other subjects the student is also studying – as there may be some relevant cross over that you can refer to.
Discuss what they need to do to get the marks. Think about if they were stuck in an exam situation and needed to say something, they might consider suitable phrasing such as ‘it is possible that’, to show the examiner that they are not over egging it. Advise them regarding mark allocations and response weighting, e.g. 1 paragraph not being enough for 8 marks. Ask them to think about who they are writing for; it is not just an examiner but an educated reader.
Provide positive feedback, when due, to reinforce the students’ knowledge and boost their confidence.
Use real life examples, as a way of developing a students understanding.
If you can, make use of the technology available to you, such as by using an interactive whiteboard, as well as having conversation with the student, some students may find this more engaging. If you are writing something, be sure to make sure that your writing is legible, especially if via online course delivery – can the student see what you have written, can they read it, is it best to type instead?