10th January 2020 15:14
By Blue Tutors
One of the most difficult challenges for a tutor to deal with is when a student becomes frustrated about not understanding something. It’s perfectly normal for someone not to understand initially and most of the time students accept they won’t pick up everything immediately, remain calm, and trust that they will eventually get it. However, there can be a much stronger emotional reaction where a student becomes upset and stops engaging with the work.
The first thing to remember is that we don’t learn well when our emotions affect our thinking. The tutor might have an amazing lesson plan but they can’t just push through with it if the student isn’t in a state to learn. A tutor isn’t there to teach a student how to control their emotions, but it’s an important skill to recognise when the student’s emotions are effecting the lesson and to simply stop. Taking a break for 5 minutes might help or, if there are only 5-10 minutes left, ending the lesson and adding that time on to the next lesson is a good plan.
The learning frustration is something we’ve all experienced, and the tutor should make their student aware of that. Empathising with the student and telling a story about when you felt the same way will probably make them feel better. It’s a misconception that Oxbridge graduates breezed through their academic life and never struggled with anything. When someone the student respects shows the same vulnerability felt by the student, it shows a light at the end of the tunnel and reduces the strong emotions they were feeling.
Of course, we do want the student to understand eventually and move forward, and the week gap before the next lesson might be all that’s needed. Our subconscious ticks over during that time and it can be really surprising how much better the student will understand something a week after they first encountered it.