Ritika's Tutoring Reflection Essay

• In August 2020, I started working at Tutorly as a Math and Science tutor. Here, I taught students from grades 1 - 12 and guided them through theur lessons. This took place virtually through Zoom.
• As I was staying at home for the academic year due to COVID, I started looking for jobs in August. I had tutored a couple students in my neighborhood before and enjoyed the experience. Therefore, I started looking for tutoring jobs as I knew I was passionate about tutoring. During my search, I stumbled on Tutorly and noticed that most of the tutors they displayed on their website were from my high school. In addition, the founders had also attended my high school. This intrigued me and I instantly applied for the job. For future SGC scholars, I would advise to search the internet for activities aligning your interests and contact those in charge through the contact information provided.
• At Tutorly, I hosted online tutoring sessions through Zoom three times a week. Here, I guided students through challenging mathematical and scientific concepts including Algebra, Geometry, and Singapore math. I also prepared lesson plans for students, assigned weekly homework, and created quizzes and tests. I also played fun educational games with my students such as math minutes, pictionary etc.
• My time at Tutorly provided me with several memorable and insightful experiences. I learned how to communicate mathematical and scientific ideas to my students in a clear and interesting manner. My main goal at Tutorly was to ensure the lessons were engaging so that my students would not lose interest. Therefore, I managed to portray complex mathematic fundamentals in an interesting way. I also learned how to comprehend my students’ thought processes and methods of approaching various problems and help them improve these. In addition, I learned how to relate scientific and mathematical topics to real-life applications to show my students the importance of these concepts and when to use them.
• Beyond science, I became more patient and supportive through my tutoring experience. It can take quite some time to understand something fully and remember it. In addition, students often need to be encouraged and motivated to reach their potential. I also became more organized as I needed to plan my lessons beforehand to ensure a structured and productive tutoring session. It was interesting to see the way my students tackled problems and improved on their weaknesses.

  I believe my understanding of science has grown through the Science and Global Change scholars program and my practicum. While teaching science, my concepts of science strengthened as I revisited several concepts I had once learned. Tutoring is a very rewarding experience as it involves guiding people to achieve their goals and reach their potential. Seeing my students improve over time gave me immense joy that I will always remember.

Last modified: 10 June 2022