As the calendar year draws to a close and we start to turn our attention to everything that 2023 has to offer, now is a good time to look back over what’s been achieved in the last 12 months. Many people get sentimental as they cast an eye over the year, but rather than being an emotional trip down memory lane, it can actually be a great activity to engage in when it comes to your studies.
Whilst we’re frequently encouraged to live in the now, and be present in the moment, there can be a danger with adopting that kind of philosophy when it comes to our education and academic studies. Only focussing on where you are now can be quite a blinkered approach, which never allows you to bask in what you’ve already achieved.
Many A Level tutors and GCSE tutors recommend taking a moment to review what you’ve achieved over a particular time period, whether that’s a term, academic year or as it the case at this moment, a full calendar year. Seeing where you started the time period in terms of your knowledge, skills, understanding and even confidence can be a great way to see just how much you’ve already developed.
If you’ve recently started taking tutoring online within a specific subject, maybe with a maths tutor or science tutor, it could be a good idea to look back and review how much progress you’ve made already. What difference has additional studying already contributed to your self-esteem and the grades you’re being predicted to earn when exam season starts next year?
This kind of activity can provide you with a huge boost and a kind of quickening when it comes to your studies. Seeing what progress you’ve already made helps reassure you that your efforts are worthwhile – you are not wasting your time, even if at moments it may feel like it. That constant and consistent effort, whether at school, at home or with the help of a dedicated online tutor are paying off.
No doubt you have heard the phrase, “Those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it,” or a variation on those lines. Previous experience has much to offer all of us when it comes to learning, growing and developing, which is why paying attention to what’s already happened is a great way to avoid mistakes.
It may seem over the top to try to attribute this to your studies, but the logic works here, too. Looking back at any mistakes you may have made in previous papers, coursework, exams or class tests is a fantastic way to see what areas you may have been struggling with. If you are studying GCSE Science, then working with a biology tutor, chemistry tutor, or a physics tutor could really help you to identify and improve in areas you need to. Being good at maths, for example, does not necessarily mean that you are good at all aspects of the subject. You may be an absolute whizz when it comes to Algebra, but fractions, decimals and percentages may make your blood run cold.
Being able to identify precisely where any problem areas are allows you the opportunity to focus on those, instead of trying to tackle everything at once. If you know you’re strong at Algebra, you don’t need to spend quite so much time on that topic when it comes to revision. Instead, your attention clearly needs to be focussed on the FDP side of things. An online maths tutor could help you to strengthen those maths topics.
Having a strong understanding of your strengths and weaknesses will allow you to better understand and therefore plan your remaining study and revision sessions.
Here at Tutorspot, we have a huge number of tutors who can offer private math tuition and science tuition, or any subject you can think of. If these are areas where you are struggling, or simply want to be able to develop further in, perhaps with the hopes of increasing your predicted grade, then working with a personal online tutor can be one of the best things you can do.
Such a tutor can work with you to help you clarify precisely what it is that you’re looking to achieve; whether that’s simply a better understanding of the subject across the board, enhanced knowledge in a specific area, support with revision or help in honing your skills when it comes to answering exam papers. Once they know what it is that you want to achieve and they fully understand where you currently are in terms of your studies and abilities, they can design sessions that are bespoke to you and your learning needs.
Working with tutors can also have a hugely positive impact on your day to day classroom studies. Having a better understanding of the subject, as well as being encouraged to read around the topics to further enhance your knowledge, will have an automatic impact on your confidence levels in class. There is far more chance of you engaging in class discussions and group work, answering questions and even going the extra mile when it comes to any homework assignments or coursework requirements. All of this means that you won’t only be optimising the knowledge you already have, but you’ll also be enhancing your knowledge beyond what you may initially have anticipated.
It’s important to remember there is no shame in having weaknesses when it comes to your studies – or any area of life for that matter. We all have them. Understanding what they are will allow you to tackle them and ultimately turn them into strengths.
It is well known that one-to-one online tutoring, with an online science tutor, online chemistry tutor, online biology tutor, online physics tutor, or an online English tutor for example, can greatly assist in maximising a student’s ability and confidence for all the core GCSE subjects. One of the best ways to tackle your weaknesses is to work directly with a private tutor online, one who can support you and guide you in a way that works best for you. To find the right tutor for you, in the subject or subjects you need, simply use our handy search tool. Remember, one of the bonuses of using an online tutor is that you are not constricted by location, so you really can choose the best tutor or teacher for you
