Are you or your child about to start an online tutoring course? We’ve got some helpful advice on how to prepare for your lessons to ensure you get the most out of your tutoring sessions and maximise efficiency, attentiveness and enjoyment.
Preparation before the lesson
Once you’ve found your online tutor (find out how to choose a great tutor here!) there are a couple of things to do to ensure the first lesson goes well and that you are well prepared to learn and engage with the tutor. We’ve made a list of the most important things to prepare before your first session:
- Location: Find a quiet and secluded place to work, away from distractions of family members or friends and make sure there is as little background noise as possible. If it is not possible to find a completely silent location, then make sure to bring headphones so that you can hear your tutor well and minimise any background noise. Choose a place that provides as few distractions as possible, such as a desk or dining table and make sure there are no screens or music playing in the background.
- Workspace: Once you’ve chosen your selected work location, start clearing a workspace. This can be a desk or table, or any flat service that allows you to have both a computer screen and pen and paper should you need it. Clear away any distracting objects so that you have enough space to work and can focus solely on the screen.
- Remove Distractions: Although you are learning from a computer or tablet screen, make sure this is the only screen you are looking at, so that means no phones! Put your phone face down and out of reach or even better put it in another room so that you are not tempted to look at it during your lesson. Close all your other programmes, internet tabs and web chats too so that you do not get distracted by other messages or notifications on your screen. Make sure that everyone is your household realises you are in a tutoring lessons too and ask to not be disturbed by family members or friends during your class. If you have a pet, try and keep them away from the room you are in during your lesson time too!
- Test your camera: Before the class make sure that your camera and computer are working, so that you don’t waste precious tutoring minutes on computer difficulties. Try ringing a friend or family member in another room to check the connection is working and set your camera up to check that the lighting is suitable.
- Test your microphone: Make sure that the quality of sound is good enough for you to both hear each other clearly. If the quality of the microphone built into your computer or tablet is poor then try the microphone on some headphones to see if there are any improvements.
- Test your internet speed: Try and call a friend for a longer period of time, or a time similar to that of your lesson to check that your internet is up to speed for calls and if you continually experience buffering and breaks in signal then perhaps move closer to your wifi box, reset your wifi or investigate problems further if they persist.
During the lesson
Online tutoring sessions usually last from around 30 minutes to 1 hour in length, and whilst this can seem like a long time for children, compared to a school day for example this is in fact relatively short so it is important to make the most of the lesson.
- Take notes and write down important things that the tutor says, don’t be afraid to ask them to repeat something if you missed it or to pause and give you time to copy down what they’ve said.
- If you do not understand something then tell your tutor! They are there to help you learn and will be happy to explain a concept again and again or in a different way until you truly understand what they are saying.
- If you enjoy a particular style of learning or a certain exercise that your tutor does then let them know so that they can incorporate it into your future lessons.
- If the lesson is on the longer side, feel free to ask for a couple of minutes break to use to bathroom or have some water half way through if you need a short break to regain concentration.
- Ask questions about any concerns, difficulties or general enquiries you might have. At school you are often in a class with many other pupils, so take the opportunity to ask your tutor any specific questions that may usually get brushed over.
- Be confident! Your tutor is there to help you so do not worry about getting an answer wrong or saying something that is incorrect. The lesson is designed for you and your progress so the most important thing is that you are confident and comfortable talking to your tutor.
After the lesson
Whilst it can be tempting to finish the lesson, sign off and forget about it until next week, to get the most out of your tutoring there are a few important steps to take.
- Consolidate your learning: This does not have to occur immediately afterwards but perhaps the next day or in the evening after a lesson read over any notes or material you were given during the lesson and check that you have a solid understanding of what happened in the class.
- Make a list: Write down anything that you are not 100% confident about from the last class so that you can ask your tutor about it next time. If you think of points or comments during the week or during your school lessons add them to your list to talk about with your tutor. It can be helpful to send these to the tutor in advance of your next class to give them time to prepare or to go over them at the start of a lesson.
Tutoring advice
If you are not sure what type of tutoring is suitable for you then read our guide to online vs in person tutoring here. For information and tips on how to find the right tutor for you we’ve got that covered too!