Evan Berkowitz

I try to keep my lessons structured without making them feel overly formal or repetitive. At the start of each lesson, we go through the homework from the previous session. I mark it with the student and explain any mistakes, rather than just giving them a score. This gives us a good idea of what needs more work and what we can move on from.

From there, we’ll usually spend some time going through the topic together before working through questions. I’ll explain things in different ways if something doesn’t make sense, and then give the student a chance to try questions independently. I think it’s important that students actually understand what they’re doing rather than just remembering a method for one particular question.

I also set homework after lessons. I keep this relatively focused, usually based on the areas we’ve worked on or anything that came up during the lesson. We then use the next lesson to see how they got on with it.

For GCSE students, I can also include exam-style questions and help with things like showing working, avoiding common mistakes and understanding where marks are being gained or lost.

The main thing I want from tutoring is for students to become more confident doing maths on their own. If there’s a topic they find difficult, we’ll work through it properly rather than rushing past it.