What qualities make a great tutor?

Tutors play an important role in the development of students within a broad range of subjects. They need soft and hard skills to do their job well which implies listening to the students, boosting their confidence, and helping them with their learning goals. Experience allows educators to gain knowledge and develop their competencies. They must work to understand pupils’ unique learning styles, develop effective teaching strategies, and create interesting lesson plans which allow them to become good teachers.

Tutoring is a job that relies on social connection; thus, professionals should be empathetic, patient, and positive. They must be patient and they should be able to step into students’ shoes to identify their needs and understand how they learn, what their learning path is, and how they process and apply the information learned. Every student is different, and educators have to take the time to get to know their students and become their allies.

They should also be proficient speakers and listeners as not only must they pay attention to what the student explains but also read between the lines. Furthermore, they should express themselves in a clear and understandable way, always adapting their speech to the pupil they are speaking to. They must be practised and proficient at using listening and oral response as informal assessments to move the lesson in a direction that best serves the learners.

Tutors must also have time management and problem-solving skills. Tutoring sessions are different from one another, and they must be prepared to anticipate problems and provide solutions to those that might arise during the development of the lesson. Students have to be reassured and, if they see their tutors can effectively solve the issues, they will remain confident and make the most of the lesson. Tutors must also adapt the activities to the time they have and make sure the student acquires the knowledge intended for each day. Technical knowledge is also very valuable as educators must be prepared to solve any technical issue that might arise, especially if they give online lessons.  

Tutors are the best allies for students as tutoring requires building positive, genuine relationships with learners and leading them to a goal with sincere regard for their progress. Students benefit from tutors that show up constantly and are kind and honest with them, always willing to help. It is essential to build trust between both and create long-lasting and fruitful relationships.

Apart from developing their interpersonal skills, tutors are constantly finding new resources and ways of teaching to challenge themselves and keep learning, which allows them to better teach the subjects they are specialized in. There are many options to further develop tutoring skills and gain knowledge, such as MOOCS. The project Mooc4Tutors aims to help tutors develop pedagogical skills that will enable them to encourage their students’ success by offering learning and support materials designed specifically for freelancers in the education field. It will offer a MOOC on teaching strategies and digital tools, a booklet with useful information about tutoring in Europe, and an education freelancer toolkit list of resources and tools.