Tutoring with Nur Rahmah Othman

1) Fostering independence: My ultimate aim is to teach the students to become independent learners. The buzzword in both high schools and universities these days is critical thinking: encouraging students to analyse subjects in a deeper, more analytical manner. I will do this by asking questions that don’t just have a ‘yes or no’ answer, set them assignments that go beyond testing their knowledge/comprehension of a matter; encourage them to voice their opinions on the intelligence. Critical thinking does more than give rise to more responsible, creative and profound thinkers; it also raises students’ self-confidence since, perhaps for the first time in their lives, they can feel like their opinions are meritorious of consideration by their tutor and indeed, by other thinkers on a given subject. This leads to a unique relationship between tutors and students in that it fosters a mentoring approach that makes students feel supported and cared for.

2) Assessment through games: After teaching a particular topic, I will test my student’s comprehension through additional problems and games.

3) Utilisation of the Pause Procedure: Good tutors are characterised by allowing their student’s voice to be heard more than their own. To ensure my students do not tune out and lose interest in what I am teaching, I will use frequent pauses to ensure the student has understood what I have just been explaining. For instance, I will ask them to summarise the idea I have just espoused and if I am teaching a group tutorial, I shall ask students to summarise what they have just learned to each other.