Most students think that showing up to tutoring is enough to make progress. In my experience, the students who leave sessions feeling stuck or frustrated aren’t struggling because they’re incapable, but rather because they’re struggling because they’re approaching tutoring the wrong way. A tutoring session is not just about answering questions; it’s about learning how to think about problems, practice strategically, and build habits that stick.
Here are five key habits that separate effective tutoring sessions from ones that just waste your time:
1) Come with Specific Goals, Not Just Questions
Walking in saying “I need help with everything” is tempting, but it’s inefficient. The best students show up with clear targets: a problem they couldn’t solve, a concept they don’t understand, or a section of notes they want to review.
What this looks like in practice:
- Write down 2–3 concrete goals before your session starts.
- Prioritize the questions that have been tripping you up in homework or exams.
- Share your goals with your tutor at the beginning so you can both focus your energy.
When you have a target, your tutor can guide your thinking instead of just handing you answers.
2) Be Ready to Work!
Tutoring isn’t a spectator sport. You can’t just sit back and hope understanding will stick: active engagement is critical. Students who make the biggest gains are the ones who attempt problems first, talk through their reasoning, and aren’t afraid to make mistakes.
Practical tips:
- Try a problem on your own before asking for help.
- Explain your thought process out loud, even if it feels awkward.
- Treat mistakes as learning opportunities, not failures.
3) Ask “Why,” Not Just “How”
It’s easy to settle for being shown a solution. But understanding why a method works is what transfers learning to new problems. In my experience, math (especially upper-level math where the process is critically important), is a key subject area where this holds true.
Try this:
- After each explanation, ask, “Why does this step matter?”
- Look for patterns across problems, not just one-off answers.
- Challenge yourself to explain the solution to someone else – you can even make up an imaginary friend to do this with.
Tutoring is about building thinking skills, not just memorizing steps.
4) Review, Reflect, and Document
A session isn’t over when the hour is up. Effective students take time afterward to review what they learned and note key strategies. Without reflection, even a good session can feel insufficient.
Reflection routine:
- Write a quick summary of concepts and strategies covered.
- Note which errors were made and why.
- Plan a quick follow-up practice set to reinforce the session.
5) Treat Setbacks as Opportunities, Not Disasters
It’s normal to get stuck during a session. The students who benefit most don’t get frustrated, instead they treat difficult problems as signals about where to improve. Each struggle is an opportunity to see what needs more attention.
How to implement:
- Identify whether an error is a knowledge gap, timing issue, or strategy problem.
- Ask your tutor for specific exercises to address the gap.
- Celebrate small wins, and recognize that understanding grows incrementally.
Closing Thoughts
Effective tutoring isn’t about having a tutor “solve everything” for you. It’s about showing up with intention, engaging actively, and using every struggle as a chance to learn. Students who adopt these habits often see more progress in a single hour than others do in weeks of practice.
If your sessions feel unproductive, try reconsidering your approach to tutoring. Set clear goals, work actively, ask why, reflect afterward, and embrace setbacks as feedback. Doing so will help get you closer to understanding the content and make better use of your time spent in tutoring.