Last Updated on 29/08/2023 by James Barron
In order to be an effective personal tutor, there are some important skills and qualities that the tutor must possess. These include logistical and curriculum planning, good organisational and communication skills, pragmatic and diplomatic abilities. A good tutor must also be knowledgeable, friendly, respectful, patient and a good listener, as well as having many other skills, qualities and attributes.
A Good Listener
There are some skills and qualities that are so essential that without them you could be deemed a poor tutor. Being a good listener is a fundamental aspect to being a good tutor as students will need to discuss elements of their life, both within the teaching organisation and outside, that are important and will have a large influence on their educational lives. Without being a good listener, it is highly likely that elements of discussions will be missed, for example, in a minor case could result in work being submitted incorrectly, but in extreme cases could result in safeguarding referral opportunities being missed, causing life or death situations.
A Good Problem Solver
The next fundamental attribute is being a good problem solver, students will arrive with all kinds of problems and as a tutor it is your responsibly to either solve the problems or refer the student to someone who can solve the problem. Without being a good problem solver when a student presents a problem, the worst response possible is a tutor that panics and is unable to make a decision.
Non Judgemental
Students will discuss elements of their lives, both within education and outside, that are outside the Overton Window, whilst this may seem strange it is essential that the tutor is non-judgemental, assuming the student is not committing a crime or is a victim, an example of this is in my experience is the use of stretch earrings. Being non-judgemental also applies to the student’s work, while it is likely the tutor will also be a lecturer, keeping those roles separate is essential to ensure that work can be marked effectively while not appearing to judge the students’ performance, allowing for support in a pastoral capacity.
Author Profile
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My first experience of teaching was in 2016, when I was asked to
deliver a talk to a group of 16-year-olds on what it was like to start
your own business. I immediately knew I wanted to become more
involved in teaching but I didn’t know where to start as I had not
previously considered a career in education. A few weeks later I
agreed to teach a class of Chinese students from the Shanghai
Technical Institute of Electronics and Information, who had travelled
to the UK to learn English and Software Engineering, after that I was
hooked. Within the next few years, I taught hundreds of students of
many different nationalities, aged from 16 to 60, and from
levels 2 to 6. I focused my time teaching with Bath University and
Bath College for several more years until I felt a change was in order.
For the last few years, I have taught remotely with several private
training organisations, provided dedicated one to one coaching
sessions, provided consultancy on teaching and assessment practices
and written about my experiences as a teacher. I plan to continue
with my current activities for the foreseeable future but I’m always
open to new teaching experiences.
