To get this blog going, I’ve decided to start a series of blog posts on what it takes to be a great tutor.

Effective one-on-one tutoring requires more than a mastery of the subject matter.  A good tutor needs to have a full grasp of the underlying issues which all play a significant role in determining how much the student will actually learn.

Broadly speaking, the tutor needs to understand where the student is coming from, and ask themselves questions like:

• how much of the learning material does the student already understand?
• what is the student’s learning style – how should I approach them in order to “get through”?
• if the student is confused, what is at the root of the confusion?
• how is the student doing in class at school? what is the curriculum?
• what is the student’s teacher’s teaching style? how will the teacher grade the homework or the exam?
• are the parents involved? what does the parent (who is often the one paying for the tutor) expect out of the session?
• is the student an “A student”, struggling to get a perfect score on the exam, or are they a “D student” just hoping to pass the class?

The answers to these, and many other questions will be different for each student.

I also think that understanding how be to an effective tutor will be helpful to parents when they sit down with your son or daughter to help with their homework, and to anyone else who finds themselves helping someone else learn new material.

Please feel free to offer your suggestions and comments as we explore these topics.