Guidelines for Private Tutoring

The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires. William Arthur Ward

The market for academic reinforcement tutorials has returned indefinitely. This is to the advantage of private tutors all around the world, especially since private tutoring can now be taught from basically wherever. An independent tutor can select where to conduct their tutorials, considering what best accommodates them and their student.

When considering the guidelines for private tutoring, there is emphasis on the importance of deciding where to conduct the tutorials.

Well then, which places are the best for private tutoring?

The answer to that will be revealed shortly!

Advantages of Teaching at the Student’s House

Not only should you know how to plan tutoring lessons, but you should also know where it is best to teach your student.  When an independent tutor decides on where to teach a student, they must consider which environment will benefit the student the most. Guidelines for tutors will generally point towards the student’s house as a great option for where to tutor from. The student can be more stimulated through learning from their home, specifically if the private tutoring is for catching up or learning a language.

What is the reasoning behind that?

The answer is straightforward. When a student is taught from their home they feel more comfortable and relaxed, than learning from a tutor’s home or any other unfamiliar environment.

Tutors contemplate how to plan tutoring lessons that can help their students familiarise the content as quickly and easily as possible. This is why guidelines for private tutoring suggest teaching at the student’s home, where they can concentrate and feel at ease.

Lastly, when tutors go teach at the student’s house they appear more relatable and friendly, compared to the student’s teachers at school who they only experience within a classroom environment. Every subject is easier to teach when the student is relaxed and attentive, especially when combined with effective learning approaches and engaging resources. Guidelines for tutors will highlight the importance of knowing how to plan tutoring lessons that are interactive and engaging, but at the end of the day, it is easier for a student to grasp the content of tutorials when they feel focused and comfortable.

Private Tutoring From Your House

Since we’ve covered tutoring at the student’s house, let’s assess the benefits of tutorials from the home of the independent tutor.

It can be really advantageous to let students come into your home for tutorials since you can give off the impression of being a well-qualified and experienced independent tutor. This may enhance the quality of your private tutoring sessions.

Guidelines for tutors wanting to feel more confident in their teaching suggest that tutors teach from their own homes, since the tutor may feel more comfortable in their home environment. A confident and relaxed tutor will be of better help to their students.

As a tutor, you may already face enough stress regarding how to plan tutoring lessons, so tutoring from your home will eliminate the pressure of transport, remembering to pack all your materials and setting up a workspace once you arrive there. This is specifically advantageous for the types of tutoring that require equipment or musical instruments.

Guidelines for private tutoring in your own home will definitely highlight the importance of designating a space for lessons. It is important for the tutor and student to always maintain a professional relationship. That being said, as a tutor you should withhold specific aspects of your private life from your students, and keep sentimental and personal items out of your students’ reach and view.

Teaching from home is definitely worth the effort of tidying up. Conducting lessons at home is especially helpful for teaching scientific subjects such as biology, IT, chemistry and physics.

Who’s to say that it is less productive to work from home?

Can Private Tutorials Be Taught Outside?

In-person private tutorials require careful and thorough consideration as to where they will be taught.

If it is not possible for the tutorials to be done at the student or tutor’s house, could they be taught outside?

To answer, well yes they can!

Nonetheless, you must carefully consider precisely where outside you could teach them. For instance, a cafe could be comfortable and accommodating for language tutoring.

When it comes to private tutorials, there is room for flexibility between the student and the tutor. Academic reinforcement tutorials could be conducted in a vacant classroom or library.

Some students may feel more comfortable and find their tutor less intimidating in this type of environment, than if the lessons were done in a home. For some students, their own home may be far too distracting for them to properly study, due to either their personal objects, roommates or family. A library or cafe can make for great lesson locations.

As discussed, there are plenty of locations where you could tutor a student, whether it be their house, your house, or a public space. However, guidelines for private tutoring would suggest that you provide a reasonable price and a space that facilitates learning.

At the end of the day, teaching is an art.

If you’re a language tutor, a park would be a great setting for conversations when teaching your student how to speak a new language. Knowing how to plan tutoring lessons, includes pairing your lesson content with a compatible setting. For example, if you are tutoring a student in a subject like maths or writing, the location for the lesson would require a comfortable desk set-up.

The most helpful tutors teach from spaces that stimulate effective learning. Regardless of what scholastic work the student needs help with, it is imperative that academic tutoring boosts the student’s confidence and leaves them with newfound study skills. This way, the student becomes capable of learning in a big class, intimate group or by themselves.

Students that seek out a tutor are doing so out of a place of willingness to get help. When selecting a location for your tutorials, you must ensure that it is a space your student will be pleased to learn from.

Remember that online tutoring is also a possible option. With the help of a good internet connection, any tutor that has a webcam and microphone can teach students online, from their home or anywhere in the world for that matter.

This is a great compromise for students and tutors if both wish to relish in the comfort of being at home and want to eliminate the transport factor. Online tutoring can also save both parties money since the tutor won’t have transport costs and the student will be charged a lower fee as result.

Although online tutorials don’t require transport time, they still require just as much lesson preparation. A learner who's hired a physics tutor to assist them with their work will still anticipate being taught by a proficient, professional, and qualified tutor despite being on opposite sides of a webcam.

How to Work Out the Price For Your Private Tutorials?

Once you begin teaching private tutorials, you’ll soon question the amount of money you should be charging your students. You can begin by considering the average rates of the area you live in so that you can keep your price rates competitive.

Regardless of if you stay in a big city or the countryside, it is likely that there is going to be another private tutor nearby with whom you can compare prices.  You’ll have to consider the market, assess what’s available, and charge competitive rates. The price will also vary based on what type of lessons you are offering.

In certain locations, there are many factors that can influence the price of private tutorials. You have to figure out the duration for your private tutorials, tweak your rates in relation to supply and demand, and provide fair prices. While you don’t need to teach at all levels, you need to be good at the levels that you will teach.

Once you contrast the rates of various tutors in your area, you’ll note that students gave feedback on their tutors. See what students have commented about their tutors and if they thought their rates were reasonable. This is what frequently shows up:

• What they expect from private tutors.
• The standard of teaching offered by local tutors.
• Their budget for private tutorials.
• Their allocated time for private tutorials.
• The style of tutorials they utilised; language lessons, exam preparation etc.

In conclusion, by evaluating your local area’s private tutor market, you’ll be able to discern the rate you could charge for your in-person or online tutorials.

If you’d like to provide either face-to-face or online tutorials, you could create a Superprof account. It is worth noting that many tutors attract fresh students by offering the first hour of tutoring for free.