What Makes a Tutor Memorable for Life?

We all have that one teacher who we remember from school who improved our lives in some way; making our experience richer and had us feeling valued as a student. These teachers have us inspired and feeling motivated long after our education is complete, which is something that we can aim towards and aspire to as tutors. If you want to expand your learning and potential to understand what makes a tutor memorable for their students, we have collated some of the best bits of advice from sources such as Ofsted, combined with our own experience, to inspire your teaching and, hopefully, your future students.

Creating an Inclusive, Tailored Learning Environment

During the early stages of working with a new student, one of the most important things to do is to create an inclusive learning environment where students feel able to fully express themselves and know that they are free to make mistakes. For many students, a traditional school setting may not be conducive to them reaching their full potential, due to the limited time and resources that teachers have in the classroom, as well as other factors that may impact this, and having individual time with a tutor can completely transform how they approach their learning. When you start work with a new student, find out from the parent or guardian if there is anything you should be aware of, such as neurodivergence or special educational needs that may alter the way that lessons need to be taught, and if there are any styles of teaching that the student responds particularly well to.

With the student, establish a dialogue early on to understand the ways that they prefer learning in school, such as through visual aids, games, quizzes or aurally, and make it clear that you have understood this and will implement it in your lessons going forward. Not only will this help you in both your lesson preparation and how you can begin to relate to the student moving forward, but it will show the student that their needs and preferences matter to you.

Feeling seen by those around us, particularly by those in education, can create a sense of safety as well as validation, which is crucial to establishing successful working relationships with students. A student feeling validated in the way they wish to work can help to increase their confidence in lessons, both with their tutor and in school, as well as showing them that they are being taken seriously as an individual.

This is also supported by Ofsted, under the criteria for what makes an outstanding teacher: ‘utilising a wide range of approaches and learning resources in order to target different pupils with different abilities and learning styles’. Knowing that your requirements are valued by a teacher is something that will stay with students long after lessons are finished, and can contribute later in life to helping realise what needs to be in place for future learning, as well as giving students confidence to advocate for themselves whether in higher education or in the workplace.

Memorable Tutors Lead with Empathy

On a similar level, one key quality that makes a memorable and successful tutor is the ability to be empathetic. Demonstrating empathy towards your students shows them that there is genuine care for their wellbeing and progress, further reinforcing the feeling of validation for a student. It also shows students that lessons are a safe place where they will be listened to and taken seriously as an individual.

By taking time to understand what your student may need based on the questions you might ask them, or by noticing their behaviours, you can also uncover what the student actually needs in order to improve, benefitting both you as the tutor and the student. Think about the types of questions that need to be asked in order to be of most benefit, and take time to put yourself in your student’s position. What is stopping the student from progressing in the way they should? Is there anything externally that needs to be changed? When has the student shown signs of most promise?

By practising empathy you will see that not only your relationships with your students change for the better, but your tutoring style will also improve, owing to the fact that you are able to become more flexible with your teaching and responsive to what is in front of you. By being a tutor who prioritises the needs both academically and emotionally of your students, your lessons will be remembered for how you made your students feel and the respect they were shown.

Connecting Through Student Hobbies and Interests

Alongside standard practices that make for good tutoring, such as sufficient planning and preparation both for the lessons and in the long term, and keeping up to date with curricula, another thing that makes for a memorable tutor is your connection with your students. One sure-fire way of forging memorable relationships with your students is to find out their interests and hobbies early on in your working relationship (this can be done through ice-breaker exercises, games and general conversation), and work this into your teaching.

This can be done in numerous ways, whether it’s linking football to Maths to help understand probability, or Marvel films to English literature for character development and storytelling, but finding the right ‘in’ will be key in how you establish this connection. Giving your students something to ground them will help them to feel as though the subject material is more accessible and easier to relate to.

Once you find the right ‘in’ for your student, you will quickly see little lightbulb moments appear when things click into place, topics that were tricky to understand suddenly feel easier to wrap their head around because it is placed in a familiar environment. Spending just a short amount of time to really get to know your students on a more personal level can be the difference between a student learning something by rote, and a student fully grasping a concept because of this new ability to place it in a world that they both enjoy and can relate to. Not only does this benefit your students’ learning, but it also helps them feel, to use the word again, seen by you as their tutor, and that their individuality is prized.

Staying Responsive and Adaptable During Lessons

This concept of the individuality of the student takes us to our final point: be responsive. Every single one of us is different and we all learn in different ways, as discussed above. In tutoring, unfortunately there isn’t a one size fits all model, and it is important that we can develop different approaches that can be applied to a variety of different students and scenarios depending on the circumstances that arise in lessons.

By preparing sufficiently and creating a supportive lesson plan, you should already know what topics need covering ahead of the lesson taking place, so when you’re in the lesson itself, whether online or in person, it is vital that you are able to respond to the student and what they would most benefit from in that particular lesson. If they seem tired, how can you add some more interactive tools to still cover the same content? Is there a way that you can engage them whilst not pushing them too much?

Equally, if they have more energy than normal and are struggling to focus, you will need to find a way of channelling that energy so that the lesson can still have direction! Although your students might not realise the work you are doing immediately, and nor should they - they want to just have an enjoyable lesson, the difference will be felt over time and by those around them.

In the same way that we can tell when someone is able to meet us where we are and give us what we need, being responsive to your students will give them the courage and confidence to fully be themselves in lessons, and by extension build confidence at school and socially. And these are not small things! Your students will remember you for giving them everything they need at such a formative stage in their academic lives.

We hope this inspired your tutoring in some way, and allowed you to think about how you plan and prepare your lessons with the long term in mind. If you would like to join our team of wonderful tutors, you can do so here!

---

Blog Post Crafted by Cicely

Cicely works on our Admin Team, and also tutors extensively.

In 2020, Cicely discovered her love of teaching, and has been tutoring English Literature and Drama ever since, as well as running a drama school audition help service with her friend and fellow actor to help prospective drama school students with their audition speeches.

Cicely has had her poetry published in anthologies and online, and in her free time is an avid reader. She loves living by the sea, a good podcast, and taking long walks in the countryside.