Although programming is not a very easy field of study, it doesn't mean that learning to code has to be tedious and boring. In reality, coding is largely a practical activity, so you can learn a programming language by doing fun exercises and creating useful software for simple tasks.
The person who can simplify the learning of computer programming skills and make it even more entertaining is a coding tutor.
Coding tutors have a lot of experience helping students and can draw up an effective tutoring plan to teach you relevant skills in little time.
Whether you learn Java, Python, C or another computer programming language, they will come up with numerous coding activities to practise each particular skill and give you the opportunity to learn to code both in lessons and in your free time.
However, for programming lessons to be of real help, the first thing is to find a good tutor with enough teaching experience behind them. It should be someone who doesn't only work or has worked as a coder themselves but is also aware of how to pass down their knowledge and get along well with students.
In this article, we are going to talk about the criteria for finding a good programming tutor in more detail, so you can meet the perfect person to learn with.
The tutor's own specialty is important
When we talk of programming lessons, in reality, it covers not just one single kind of lesson but a whole variety of courses on different coding languages and skills.
As the field of programming is extremely diverse, a tutor cannot master all existing coding languages and their applications. They may know just one or several languages that are relevant to their specialty and know absolutely nothing about other programming tools.
As a result, unless they want to learn the very basics of computer science and programming, students should look for tutors whose specialty is the same as the one they want to learn.
For example, a student interested in Java should rather search for a tutor who uses or has used Java as part of their work and will know this programming language in detail.
Furthermore, students who take advanced programming lessons, such as the application of Java in data science or another area, should try and find a tutor with experience in that particular field, who has enough knowledge to help them.
Probably the most difficult case is university students because higher education programming courses deal with complex computer science concepts that not all private tutors can teach.
So, when they contact a tutor, students should be clear about what kind of tutoring they are looking for, so the latter can tell if they have the right skills to help the student and prepare for the lessons if needed.
The additional bonus of having a tutor specialising in your area of interest is that they can share helpful learning and coding tips with you, so you will be better qualified for jobs once your education is over.
Find a tutor you get along well with
For tutoring lessons to be helpful to students, tutors need to have good experience and skills in the subject they are teaching. However, that is not the only condition.
Another important factor in the effectiveness of tutoring is the personal relationship between a student and a tutor. Of course, they don't have to be close friends but at least feeling comfortable in class is essential.
When students are at ease with their private tutors, they don't hesitate to ask questions about the content of the lessons, make suggestions and take a more active part in the learning process in general.
That, in turn, simplifies the tutor's work as well because based on the student's questions they can identify problematic topics to focus on in lessons and tweak their tutoring approach to adapt it to the student's learning style.
Additionally, students who like their tutors are more motivated to attend their lessons and even work on training exercises on their own to achieve better education results.
The only question is how can students know if they are going to hit it off with a tutor? The best solution for that is to meet with the tutor in person or online once before starting tutoring lessons with them.
Actually, the first meeting is useful for that and for many other reasons. It can be an opportunity for tutors to better understand students' goals, ask them questions about their learning preferences, test their coding skills and general analytical abilities, and so on.
After such a meeting, tutors have much more elements to draw up a tailored program of lessons and know exactly how they should organise their work with each given student.
So, even though meeting tutors in person or online may take time, you shouldn't neglect that step to ensure the quality of tutoring.
Learning computer programming skills online
Selecting the right computer programming tutor can be a difficult business but what should those who simply don't have enough tutors to choose from?
Even though such a situation is unlikely in a big city, like Sydney and Melbourne, where a lot of tutors live, it can easily happen in a smaller town.
Luckily, there is still a good way to meet qualified tutors for those living away from big education centres, that is, online tutoring.
On the Internet, learners don't have to search for someone who lives near their home or university but can get in contact with tutors from all across Australia and even abroad to find the tutoring services that best suit them.
Private online tutoring can be especially interesting for those who need help with advanced university programming, computer science and other disciplines that require rare abilities from tutors.
On top of that, online tutoring gives you more flexibility in the organisation of lessons as you can take them from any place with an Internet connection and at any time. So, you will not only learn with the best tutors but also in the most convenient way for you.
Getting information about a tutor
So far, we have described several criteria that you can use to choose a good programming tutor for you or your child. However, to be able to compare tutors with one other, you first need to gather information about their teaching methods, years of experience, university education, etc.
There are several sources of information that can help you with that. First of all, you shouldn't hesitate to interview the tutors themselves about their services. They can certainly provide you with helpful information and tell, among other things, if your subject is within their competence.
Second, you may want to talk to the tutor's former students. They can tell you about how their classes unfolded, the strengths and the weaknesses of the tutor and the impact of the tutoring classes on their university results or professional career.
Finally, you can take a trial lesson to test the tutor's teaching methods yourself and get to know them in person. You can also ask for additional information on their tutoring rates.
If you hesitate between several tutors, collecting information about them can be a lengthy process and you will need to memorise or note it down in order to analyse it later.
Happily, there is a platform that can make the search for tutors much easier. Let me introduce you to Superprof.
Looking for tutors on Superprof
Superprof is an online education platform where tutors from all across Australia and the world can place advertisements for their lessons, share information about their teaching methods and skills and get reviews from the students whom they have taught.
As a result, there is a lot of open information about tutors on Superprof and you can read and compare the different profiles against your needs.
You can start by searching for all available computer programming tutors or even specific languages, such as 'Python lessons' or 'Java tutors'. You will immediately see their rates, the other languages and subjects they can teach and how they give lessons (locally, online or both!).
Finally, you can contact the tutor by message, email or phone and book the first lesson with them to get to know them in person. What makes Superprof especially good is that most tutors offer their first class for free, so you'll be sure to find the right programming tutor for you and your coding future.
Thanks to Superprof, finding the right programming tutor in Australia or online take students much less time and also makes tutoring accessible to a greater number of people.
What's even more important, you will certainly enjoy learning to code with your Superprof tutor and want to pick up new and new skills to achieve even greater results in the future.
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