Students who are preparing for their first tutoring session may have a lot of questions about what their sessions will be like, what the tutor will cover with them, and how they need to prepare. It’s helpful for new tutoring students to know a few things ahead of time to make the first session be a great success. Alternatively, if students would rather talk about these things in person, they might prepare a few talking points to go over at their first session.
The session format
Tutoring can be done in person at a student’s home, tutors can meet with students at a library or coffee shop near their school, or they might be working together online. Students might even prefer a combination of these formats. It’s a good idea for students to chat about this ahead of time, especially if they’re going to be meeting online. If digital technology is new to the student, they may want to troubleshoot before their first session or meet in person up front so the tutor can help the student get set up.
Learning materials
Students should also let their tutor know what learning materials they want to use during their sessions. It’s especially important for English literature students to give their tutor a list of books they’re going to be reading throughout the semester, or at the very least the book they want to cover in their first few sessions. Additionally, students in all subjects likely have a syllabus or some sort of learning plan from their classroom teacher and it’s helpful for them to look through their syllabus and mention the main concepts they will need help with. This will help the tutor prepare any learning materials necessary.
Keeping a regular schedule
Students should also discuss with their tutor within their first couple of sessions what they want their semester schedule to be like. This can look different for each student, for instance maybe they want to meet one day a week for an hour and a half or maybe they need two 1-hour sessions per week. It’s mainly important that the student keeps a regular schedule to enhance their ability to succeed. Test prep students who will not be working on a semester schedule, should let their tutor know when they plan to take the actual test to make sure they have a timeline leading up to that date.
