"Helping students find a path to purpose is one of the noblest aspects of teaching." -Vicki Zakrewski

Tutoring isn’t always straightforward. There isn't one strategy or teaching method that fits all students. Every child or teenager is different and tutors must recognise this fact to be successful. Therefore, when a student is unhappy, you need to get to the root of what is making them feel discouraged or disillusioned if you are to work with them through a problem and make progress.

Academic success or failure is dependent on so many various factors, some of which arise from the students themselves, while others can be attributed to difficult home life, lack of self-esteem, economic hardships and social backgrounds, etc. And, while instructing a reluctant student can be quite a challenge for tutors, it's also one of the most rewarding experiences to see them grow and watch them find their purpose in the classroom.

Without further delay, the overall objective of today's article is to provide tutors with some practical tips for engaging, understanding and inspiring reluctant students who are struggling academically.

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How Do Tutors Encourage a Reluctant Learner?

working with other students
The best tutors encourage all students to have a good time learning. (Source: Unsplash)

If you're a tutor who's trying their best to inspire and encourage a student who doesn't seem to have any interest in learning, please, DO NOT DESPAIR! By working hard and applying some suggestions, academic tutors of any subject can have success teaching all types of students, even the reluctant ones.

Build a Rapport

In many cases, for young learners, the tutor they are having classes with was not chosen by them but rather their parents or legal guardians. It's important to state that if your student has not had a good relationship in the past with teachers, they might tend to categorise you, the tutor, as just another annoying adult telling them what to do.

Therefore, it's highly recommended that before getting into the nitty gritty of lessons and homework, academic instructors should spend time getting to know their students' hobbies, films, music preferences, etc. If you can find common ground, your student will look forward to the next remedial session. Building a rapport is important for all students but even more so for students who are having academic difficulties.

Tutors, after creating a friendship with your new student, you might want to build your next class around their favourite themes and this will lead to better cooperation and a stronger relationship.

Ask for Feedback

To have any form of success, tutors, of all levels, must stay humble and request feedback from students and parents. Therefore, as regularly as you see fit, ask for feedback from your student. You might want to consider the following questions with them:

  • Do you feel you are accomplishing your goals in these tutoring sessions?
  • Are there any parts of the subject I am teaching that you feel are a stumbling block to further learning?
  • Do you feel that these sessions are interesting?
  • If not, which part of our lessons do you find the least interesting?
  • Which areas of the subject would you like to spend more time on?
  • What suggestions, in general, would you make to enable you to learn better?
  • Do you feel the class is too slow- or fast-paced?

By asking students the previously mentioned questions, you'll improve your lessons and sharpen your overall skills as a teacher. Also, reluctant students will greatly appreciate the fact that you're asking them for advice since they will feel that the learning experience isn't static but rather always moving forward.

Talk To Your Student’s Parents

open conversations with teachers
At times, tutors may need to enlist the help of a student's parent to work through a serious learning problem. (Source: Unsplash)

Many tutors have students that are minors and have had their parents hire them. So, if you notice that your student is a bit "off", you might ask the parents a few questions as to why that's the case. For example, you might not want to get too personal but it's important to know if there are any serious traumas or learning difficulties that will inevitably affect academic tuition.

For the greater good of the young student, parents and tutors should do everything in their power to have open communication. After surfing the web or reading education books, you might want to share any tips you find with the student’s parents and suggest that they apply certain tricks at home to make learning more conducive.

Especially if your students are suffering from severe academic difficulties, parents need to be involved.

All in all, when children associate learning with bonding time with their parents, they are much more likely to begin forming positive associations between family time and study time.

Turn Learning From Something Boring Into Something Fun

To make education more engaging and informative for primary and secondary school students, there have been many teaching methods implemented that boast glowing results. Such as? Well, for one, there's the Montessori teaching method. The Montessori method uses bright, colourful equipment to grab children’s interest and aims to teach kids practically, using specific tools to teach volume, number, size, etc.

Also, when it comes to grabbing younger students’ interest, you should emphasise the practical aspects of what they are learning rather than the theoretical. For instance, to teach a child in Key Stage 1 about fractions, rather than using pen and paper, it is much more fun to make a cake using measuring cups, which enables young ones to learn the simpler fractions (1/2, 1/3, 1/4). Slightly adjusting teaching methods to use more visual techniques will set your teaching style apart from the rest and keep reluctant students coming back for more.

For students born in the last ten to fifteen years, "fun" or "interactive" learning means using technology. So, consider including interactive apps and features of well-made websites such as Khan Academy or ClassDojo.

Before concluding this section, it's important to point out that you don’t need to be an experienced tutor to work out new ways to teach old concepts; just think of the most logical, fun and game-like manner of teaching a concept; this is especially true for complex topics such as mathematics and the sciences.

Use a Reward System

Rewarding students for their good work isn't just something that's done in the traditional classroom but also during private tutoring sessions. Giving a student a reward is extremely important to the flow of lessons, especially for reluctant students who already have many qualms about taking lessons with a tutor.

After you've had a few lessons with your student, think about things they enjoy and that will make them happiest. The list below features a few rewards you could offer to primary and secondary school students:

  • Playing a computer game,
  • Learning in the park, 
  • Having a snack break,
  • Personal reading time,
  • Social media scrolling. 

All of the previously mentioned rewards can be offered to students at the beginning, middle, or end of class time. Try to relate rewards to course material as closely as you can so that lessons do not feel disjointed.

It's important to say that if you're tutoring university students, they do not need rewards since they are already driven by the motivation to pass their coursework and important examinations.

Encourage the Student to Have Learning Goals

objectives and goals
If a struggling student has learning goals and sees them become a reality, they will appreciate education more. (Source: Unsplash)

Regardless of the type of student or the course you are teaching, tutors should ensure that their students have learning goals. But, what are the benefits of encouraging students to have goals? Take a look at the following reasons:

  • Having goals encourages critical thinking, 
  • Having goals establishes new problem-solving techniques, 
  • Having goals provides students with a better understanding of how to overcome issues, 
  • Having goals allows students to see that learning has a purpose.

Learning objectives are fundamental to the education experience and tutors are in the best position to help students.

In conclusion, we sincerely hope that you have found some inspiration in this blog post. If you have your own tips for tutoring reluctant students, why not share them with us and our readers in the comments section? Have fun tutoring!

 

The best tutors available
Rush
5
5 (79 reviews)
Rush
£75
/h
Gift icon
1st lesson free!
Lucinda
5
5 (22 reviews)
Lucinda
£150
/h
Gift icon
1st lesson free!
Hakim
5
5 (16 reviews)
Hakim
£50
/h
Gift icon
1st lesson free!
Maria-alexandra
5
5 (15 reviews)
Maria-alexandra
£40
/h
Gift icon
1st lesson free!
Rush
5
5 (79 reviews)
Rush
£75
/h
Gift icon
1st lesson free!
Lucinda
5
5 (22 reviews)
Lucinda
£150
/h
Gift icon
1st lesson free!
Hakim
5
5 (16 reviews)
Hakim
£50
/h
Gift icon
1st lesson free!
Maria-alexandra
5
5 (15 reviews)
Maria-alexandra
£40
/h
Gift icon
1st lesson free!
Let's go

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Brentyn

Avid movie-goer, reader, skier and language learner. Passionate about life, food and travelling.