If you are a hardworking student and interested in becoming a tutor, it is a great job option to consider. This will provide you with an insight into what you can expect from a tutoring position, the largest responsibilities and duties, as well as what type of personality is best suited for the role.
What does a tutor do and what is the role of a tutor?
The role of a tutor is to assist in the learning and development of knowledge of students. Each tutor is required to personalise lessons to the needs of each student to ensure they attain what they are aiming to gain from tutoring.
For instance, some students may be struggling with understanding concepts in class, therefore requiring their tutor to go over concepts they struggled with by breaking them down further. Alternatively, some students may be finding schoolwork extremely easy and would like to be further challenged in tutoring.
Therefore, tutors are required to gain an understanding of the academic level of their students, and their goals, in addition to what they would like to attain from tutoring, to effectively personalise lessons so that they are beneficial to the student. If you're interested in booking a tutor, come take a look at the variety of KIS Tutors!
Biggest responsibilities and duties of a tutor
As previously mentioned, a tutor’s role is to personalise lessons for each student. Consequently, a significant duty of a tutor is to determine what each student requires, and their goals and determine an effective strategy to address these during lessons.
Communication with parents/guardians of students, regarding the progress of students, and maintaining relationships with parents during the tutoring period is another large responsibility. This is pivotal to ensure any concerns are addressed, questions answered and their expectations of tutoring are met. It is also important to communicate and receive feedback from students to identify what may or may not be working for them to ensure you can adjust your methods to best suit them.
A tutor is also responsible for constantly checking in with students to see how they are going at school and if their requirements for tutoring have changed. Notably, they may occasionally find content easier and require more challenging work, whereas other times may need to receive a further exploration of concepts covered in class to grasp a better understanding.
What kind of person/personality would be best suited for tutoring
Passion for the subjects you studied
If you find that you enjoyed studying a particular subject in school and have a huge passion for it but are disappointed you’ve now finished it, maybe consider tutoring that subject!
If you are passionate about a particular subject, this will make you enjoy your job as a tutor whilst also allowing your students to enjoy receiving lessons. This is vital as this greatly contributes to students grasping concepts better and having a greater drive to learn.
Communication
One of the most important qualities of a tutor is communication and the ability to deconstruct concepts to a level that students can understand. Hence, doing extremely well in a subject doesn’t automatically mean you should tutor. Rather, it is also important to be able to have a deep enough understanding to be able to teach your students concepts and answer any question or provide clarity on a particular area where they lack understanding. This can only be achieved through clear and simple explanations which can only be achieved through good communication skills.
Leadership
Tutoring significantly involves taking charge and showcasing leadership qualities. Notably, leaders are people who effectively guide others and provide inspiration, which tutors do. They effectively provide feedback and help students revise their work to ensure they achieve their academic goals, providing them guidance. If you're a student and keen on a tutor, you can browse Australia's top-scoring tutors here.
Adaptability
Being able to adapt to new situations is a pivotal quality of a tutor as each student has unique needs and ways of learning. Hence, it is important to be able to alter and adjust your teaching style in a way that is beneficial to the student. There is always room for creativity and creating an engaging experience for each student, developing one that appeals most to them.
Patience
It is important to be a patient person as the majority of students who receive tutoring are struggling in school and require assistance with understanding concepts and developing their skills. Consequently, this requires significantly breaking down concepts and slowly moving through content to ensure all is understood.
Advice for new tutors
If you find a tutoring position interesting and believe you possess the aforementioned qualities of a tutor, here are some tips before you start!
Revise the content of the subject you would like to tutor and ensure you have a good understanding of the syllabus and how it is assessed. This is important to ensure you focus on what is required as this is how students will be examined.
Be patient and flexible with students. It is important to ensure students feel comfortable with you so that they feel comfortable enough to communicate their needs. This can be achieved by building a good rapport with students and you have the willingness to share personal experiences relevant to them to develop a friendly and relatable relationship.
Gather resources for the subject you will be tutoring. KIS is great and has many resources available to tutors! But it is also good to gather some additional resources so that you can help extend what students are covering in class. But if instead, you're looking for tutoring, here are Australia's best HSC tutors!
Written by KIS Academics Tutor Sandrine Maximus, for HSC Legal Studies, Maths and more! Sandrine is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Actuarial Studies and Information Technology (majoring in Data Science) at MQU. You can view Sandrine's profile here and request her as a tutor.
