The year 2020 has certainly brought many drastic changes to all walks of life for many people, much of these changes are obviously attributed to the pandemic which has resulted in uncertainty and has certainly required many to adapt and adjust. When young tutors ask for tips and tricks to become successful private tutors, the question may never be answered with certitude, as every tutor is unique and there is no fixed formula to follow to achieve success.
Private tutoring requires commitment and a good amount of emotional intelligence, both of which are highly regarded qualities which don’t come by easily. However, there are a few ways in which new tutors can try to build themselves a strong foundation!
Firstly, people who want to become a successful tutor must have a good and efficient marketing strategy. It is impossible to find students without good advertising that can be easily accessed through the internet. However, this does not mean that people should just pour their life savings into trying to make a fool proof marketing strategy.
Investment should instead be minimised. Some money can be spent by advertising on newspapers and on websites. A free way to promote tuition services can be through the use of social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, twitter, etc. This can also be made more effective by asking former students to leave positive reviews. This low-cost marketing strategy will be enough to increase the chance of getting a student significantly.
Moreover, people should not make the mistake of focusing too much on online advertisements. Adopting tradition advertisement methods such as giving out flyers at high traffic public areas will also greatly increase chances of getting hired.
Secondly, it is important for people to know what their teaching services are worth. A common mistake is to overprice their services even though the skills that they can bring to the table is limited. For example, someone who has a master degree in a subject can get away with conducting tuition at a higher price while an undergraduate will not be able to do so due to their limited experience and expertise.
People who adopt strategies such as offering discounts to parents who are considering enrolling more than one child have a higher chance of enticing parents to choose them over other potential tutors.
Thirdly, a good tutor will change their teaching style in a way that it is the most beneficial for the student. Different students will have their own unique way of learning and retaining information. It is important that tutors analyse what type of learning style the student has before deciding how to teach a certain topic as if not the student will learn the topic at a much slower pace than expected.
Moreover, the student may struggle and not learn a lot from the lesson which may result in the student not wanting tuition lessons anymore. It is a good tutor’s utmost responsibility to ensure that the student is engaged throughout the lesson and attentive. Should the student be restless and inattentive, the tutor needs to make the right call: either continue the lesson in a different way (something more interactive) or cut the timing of the lesson if the student is feeling exhausted from school.
Fourthly, volunteering to teach for free is a very good way in improving their resume. There is a much lower chance that a student hires a tutor with absolutely no prior experience in teaching. Thus, not only does volunteering to teach increase chances of getting hired, it also provides them with experience of actually teaching students which can greatly help to improve their teaching skills. This experience can also be obtained by teaching online classes.
Online tuition is especially gaining importance at this point in time when online learning has become the norm due to everyone studying and working from home. Its hence no longer a new phenomenon and thus tutors can make use of this opportunity to develop themselves.
Lastly, no matter how skilled someone is at teaching and how engaging they are, it is important for them to know exactly what they even need to teach. Some tutors tend to focus too much on the topics that they want to teach instead of teaching the topics that are needed to be taught.
Thus, it is important for potential tutors to familiarise themselves with the curriculum that the students have to learn. They can do so by establishing connections with teachers who teach at schools and asking them for advice.
Moreover, potential tutors should prepare outlines and lesson plans before even beginning to teach to make sure that they are on the right track. Although it is not necessary to follow this plan after learning more about the student, it is important not to appear lost.