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Tag: Tutors

  • Using a Tutor – Benefits Beyond Raising Your Grade

    Using a Tutor – Benefits Beyond Raising Your Grade

    Have you ever considered using a tutor? If your answer is no, there are a few things you should know about the benefits of a tutor that may help sway your decision. This article will explore how hiring a tutor can help students gain confidence in their own academic ability in addition to giving them a new outlook on course material. A good tutor will be willing to help their pupil become a stronger student, which will reflect in their assessments. I will also advise those hiring a tutor on what to look for when choosing a tutor to insure they are suited for your needs.

    Even those students that are satisfied with their academic achievements can obtain value from the guidance of a tutor. If you have ever studied for a test and skipped over a lesson or two because you did not fully understand it, all the while convincing yourself that one lesson would not affect your grade, you are not alone. Many students feel this way when studying for tests. What you need to consider is that one lesson in a grade 10 class may grow into an entire unit in grade 11 and you may regret not taking the time to get extra help to understand the material more fully. Tutors act as private teachers – to answer tough questions that you might not feel comfortable to ask in class and to help you understand difficult course material. By using a tutor to answer those questions, you will soon learn that no question is a “dumb” question and you will feel more comfortable speaking up in class (and trust me – there is always at least one other student wondering the same thing). Before you know it, your peers will be asking you for help!

    Understanding tough concepts is another place tutors can help. Sometimes it takes someone to explain a concept differently in order for you to understand it. Tutors can be great for this. They are there to help you understand and they can spend as long as you need – using examples until you feel comfortable with the material. For example, when being taught about optics in science class, understanding the specifics about near and farsightedness is lost on many students but few will ask for clarification. A tutor could take this concept of sight and compare it to the clarity of the words on an overhead screen as you adjust the focus to give the student a concrete example they can draw on when discussing or during tests.

    The examples above are determined by quality of tutor you hire. When hiring a tutor you should consider their education (a teacher, university student or senior high school student), their experience with the subject matter/course (they have already taken or taught the course and been extremely successful, or they have tutored this course in the past) and their philosophy on learning. I suggest meeting your potential tutor in person before hiring them and explain your needs and goals. When possible, consider tutors that have been recommended to you by family or friends. If that is not an option, try asking a teacher, professor, teaching assistant or guidance counselor for suggestions. Good luck!

  • Tutee Seeking Tutor..Where are you?

    Tutee Seeking Tutor..Where are you?

    If you find yourself struggling with a course in university, don’t fret – get a tutor! A tutor may not be for everyone, but they may be one of best learning aids out there and relatively easy to find.

    Many students will experience difficulties with academic subjects at some point during their academic career, but all universities provide some type of resources to help during those times.

    Professors are probably the best people to ask when you need some clarification about something, but they usually have limited office hours. In that case, your school’s resource centre is your best bet to finding more accessible help. Hiring a tutor through your school also means a higher likelihood that the person is a reputable tutor and could even be offered at a subsidized cost to you.

    You can find a tutor outside of your school, but consider taking the extra time to ensure the person you hire is in fact knowledgeable in the field and understands the tutee/tutor relationship in order to be worth the money you are paying.

    “I think it depends on how much help one needs as a tutee. If one is lagging behind in a class and wanting to catch up, then tutoring will be helpful as it re-teaches the material; but if one needs tutoring for a specialized personal need or wants to excel in an area, then tutoring is only useful if the tutor is competent and one-on-one, and most tutors are not competent enough for that”, said Virginia Zhao, 4th year UBC student.

    “To that effect, I don’t find tutoring helpful in most situations. When I need help, instead of asking for a tutor, I ask for ‘higher authorities’ such as teachers [and] professors…they are more helpful and efficient than peers” continued Zhao.

    For more specialized purposes, such as wanting to start building a foundation for a particular career while still in school, you might consider working with a mentor. Mentors – whether you work with them in your job or at school – have proven to expand knowledge, help narrow down focus and improve decision-making in their mentees.

    Colleges and universities might have mentorship programs in place where students are carefully matched to their mentors to ensure both parties will gain value from the experience. If a student is even more certain about what they want to do when they finish post-secondary they should consider becoming members of the related associations and join programs where mentorship is available.

    “My mentor was easy to get along with and was very helpful in refining my technical skills” Marko Martic, IT Diploma graduate from BCIT, said. “I Kept in touch with my mentor even after I was done my program and he introduced me to a network of people in my field that eventually helped me find my job”.

    “Maybe one day I’ll have the opportunity to be a mentor and help someone like my mentor helped me – there are always mentees looking for mentors and more people will see the benefits once they get into it” Martic said.