Faq
General Tutoring Questions
Individualised teaching – My Academy believes in the importance of individualised learning led by qualified and experienced tutors. Our 1 on 1 sessions are completely individualised to the student, and while our group sessions do follow a programme, they are kept to a maximum of 8 participants to ensure the teacher is able to differentiate for different student needs. While a lot of tuition agencies may like to say they provide individualised support, they usually work to a set programme with an emphasis on rote learning and worksheet-based practise. We ensure our sessions are hands-on and teacher-led utilising physical resources, engaging discussion and fun activities as well as written work. The tutor is actively leading the sessions and providing ongoing explanation and support, ensuring the student truly understands the concepts being taught.
Qualifications and experience – All of our primary tutors are qualified teachers who are able to tailor their teaching style to the specific needs of their students while our high school tutors have an in-depth knowledge of their subject area and experience working with and relating to young people. My Academy was the first accredited tuition organisation in WA and we onboard and train our tutors so we are confident in their ability to represent My Academy’s educational philosophy and standard of teaching.
GATE specialist – My Academy are GATE specialists, having prepared students for WA scholarship exams for over 13 years. Our GATE materials are continuously updated to reflect changes in the exam, and we do not base our resources on Eastern States exams.
As a WA based company all our materials and teaching reflect the current WA curriculum. Our tutors are GATE trained and well equipped to prepare students for these tests, as well as working to horizontally extend students and foster their love of learning.
Our philosophy is that tutoring is for everyone – all ages and all abilities levels.
Tutoring has had a reputation for only being for students who are failing, struggling to complete their coursework or ‘really need it’. Unfortunately, this means that some students will feel ashamed about coming in for tutoring, thinking it means they are not smart or that they need extra support while everyone else does not (when quite often a lot of their peers are seeking additional support outside of the classroom and they just do not know it!).
Ongoing tuition can work to ensure that student’s do not reach that point of feeling lost or overwhelmed by the content they are introduced to at school. By clarifying concepts as they are first being introduced in class and providing different strategies and tools for learning that engage with the way an individual learns best, tutoring can support students before they start to fall behind.
Individualised sessions from experienced teachers can also work to further extend student’s that are achieving high scores or can work to build confidence and engagement in students who are becoming disengaged from education within the traditional classroom setting.
Yes online tutoring can be very beneficial. At My Academy the tutors are chosen for their skills in teaching. They offer the same personalised teaching and interactive resources as they would if they were sat next to their student. Online tutoring is most effective when the students have a quiet space where they can concentrate and engage with the tutor without disruption.
Our tutors have a strong knowledge of the curriculum and their specialist subject/s so they can determine which key areas a high achieving student should focus on to improve even further and succeed. Outside of test scores however, tuition can also help to further develop an excelling student’s curiosity and passion for learning – which does not need to be constricted to the curriculum!
This is done through horizontal extension. Rather than having students complete the coursework of the year grade above them (vertically extending them), horizontal extension expands student’s knowledge into unfamiliar settings and the real-world application of a topic. This builds their understanding and logical thinking skills while also allowing them to delve deeper into the topics that interest them. By contrast, vertical extension means that when they progress to the next year level, their boredom and disengagement is likely to increase as they won’t be learning anything new at all. Horizontal extension is the preferred method of teaching high achieving students by educational professionals, and this is reflected in the philosophies of the countries currently leading the world in education.
Our tutors are accredited by the Australian Tutoring Assocation.
For primary, our tutors are all qualified teachers so they have been trained in early learning and teaching techniques and have experience working in the classroom with a diverse range of year levels and ability levels.
For high school, our tutors are chosen for their depth of knowledge in their specialist field, so they have or are working towards a tertiary qualification in the subject. We also ensure our tutors have experience mentoring and teaching young people, a strong knowledge of the curriculum and study strategies and the ability to build a strong rapport with adolescents.
All tutors have their own teaching style, interests and personality and we understand how important it is to find a tutor who works well with your child. For this reason, we are happy for parents to initially book a trial session before committing to ongoing tuition to ensure the selected tutor is a good fit for the student.
Yes. We do have tutors who are Early Years specialists and can support children from the age of 3 with their learning goals. We offer 1 on 1 sessions which are hands on, engaging and completely focused on the student. The child can learn through play, with activities specifically designed to build essential literacy and numeracy foundations. These sessions can go for 1 hour, 45 minutes or 30 minutes.
Most of our 1 on 1 students come in for 1 hour sessions, however this can be flexible depending on the needs of the student. For younger students we do also offer 30 minute and 45 minute sessions as we understand that not all young children are able to concentrate effectively for a full hour (particularly after a full day of school!) We can also offer 1.5 or 2 hour sessions for students that feel comfortable working with a tutor for that long. As the sessions are tailored to the student and they have the complete attention of the tutor, they are able to get through quite a lot of content in the 1 hour time frame.
Our Year 2 and 3 groups run for 1.5 hours total and cover both literacy and numeracy skills.
The Year 4, 5 and 6 groups run with 1 hour of English and 1 hour of maths (though it is not compulsory for students to attend both!)
Being completely online, rural students have the same access as any students in the cities. The sessions are run through the secure online learning platform, which is specifically designed for tutoring. It includes an interactive whiteboard function as well as document sharing and video and audio capabilities so tutors are able to teach students in real time, and both student and teacher and able to write and draw on the screen, as well as pass along worksheets and resources to each other.
If rural students are preparing for GATE, they can also join all the workshops and access all the online materials to help with practice.
We do not run a set high school group programme as we do find that schools cover topics at different times and student’s need vary considerably so a more rigid programme is not as beneficial for high school students.
However, we are able to arrange paired and small group sessions (of 4 students maximum) for high school students upon request. These sessions, like 1 on 1, would be tailored to the student’s needs and planned by the tutor according to their progress. We would recommend that this option be used with students who are working at a similar level, are looking for support in the same topics and ideally, are at the same school or with the same clear learning goal (such as preparing for GATE or WACE exams).
If you would like to learn more about our paired and group options for high school and whether they would be a good fit, please do contact us to discuss your child’s learning needs and goals.
GATE Questions
Every child is different, and when students start preparing with us can really vary – with some parents enquiring while their child is still in Year 2 and others contacting us in the month leading up to the exam!
Generally, starting to prepare early in Year 5 gives your child the time to focus on building up their foundational knowledge in the areas covered in the exam before tackling test techniques and strict time frames, as well as the challenging style of question they can expect on the day. However, individualised tuition with qualified and experiences tutors in the lead up to Year 5 can help to ensure your child is being extended sooner and that they are working at a high level before they start Year 5, putting them in good stead for exam preparation as well as the actual content of the GATE programme once they enter high school.
Although it is best to prepare earlier to ensure your child does not have foundational gaps in knowledge, it isn’t too late to begin preparing! With some sessions or workshops to focus on exam techniques and introduce them to GATE style questions, students will still be better equipped for the exam than if they do no preparation at all beforehand.
GATE programmes are aimed at students who are consistently achieving high marks in school and are perhaps even considered the top of their class academically. As such, the GATE exam is aimed at students who are working at an A grade level, so is designed to be quite challenging, even for academically high achieving children.
If your child is not an A grade student, they likely need some additional support to help them to further develop their skills before they start to work on extension level materials in preparation for the exam.
You can book a 30 minute session with a tutor to determine what level your child is currently working at and to give you accurate recommendations on what areas they should be focusing on.
The best way to prepare students for the GATE exam is through a focus on extending them and developing their knowledge of literacy, numeracy and logical reasoning. Once students have that strong foundational understanding they can begin practising specific exam strategies and working on GATE style questions within tight time limits.
Ongoing tutoring with a qualified tutor that specialises in GATE ensures students have the tailored support they need to strengthen their logical reasoning abilities and apply strategies to challenging content. As well as ongoing sessions, My Academy also offers a range of GATE workshops which allow students to consolidate what they have been learning with their tutor and focus specifically on exam strategies in all four areas of the exam. We also have Mock Exams which cover content as similar as possible to the real exam, and allow students to experience GATE style questions and time limits under strict exam conditions before the day itself.
For preparing at home, we recommend having students practise their creative writing skills, further develop their analytical thinking skills by having conversations with others about what they read, watch and see around them, and perhaps do some additional problem solving and abstract reasoning practise.
My Account Questions
To enrol for ongoing tutoring, simply click on any button on the website that says ‘Book a tutor”. You will then need to register to create an account (making sure it is your details and not your child’s). Then you can book in with the tutor of your choice.
To enrol for group tutoring, you will need to click on “group classes” at the top of the teacher page. This will then take you to all the groups that are offered. The group sessions must be booked before the first session of each term. You cannot start part way through the term.
Rescheduling has never been easier. Simply login to your account. On your dashboard you will see on the lefthand side a navigation bar. Click on “Lessons”. Find the lesson you need to reschedule and on the righthand side there is a time symbol. Click on that symbol and pick another time for your lesson when the tutor is available. Lessons need to be reschedule 24 hours before. If the reschedule is due to sickness and less than 24 hours before, please message your tutor and ask them to reschedule the lesson.
Having a good rapport with the tutor is key to any learning success. We all have different personalities and therefore being with the right tutor is very important. If for any reason you do not engage with your tutor, simply cancel any future lessons with them and choose a different tutor to try. All our tutors are very experienced and pride themselves on creating a beneficial learning experience.
Simply login to your account. On your dashboard you will see on the lefthand side a navigation bar. Click on “Lessons”. Find the lesson you need to reschedule and on the righthand side there is an X in a circle symbol. Click on that symbol and your lesson will be cancelled and the credit put back in your wallet. Lessons need to be cancelled 24 hours before to avoid being charged.
- The platform has been designed to minimise any technical issues. The tutors are all required to have high speed internet. Most technical issues are caused by:
- Students trying to hotspot off a phone
- An old device being used
- Poor internet connection
Please ensure that you have good internet service to avoid any technical issues.
When starting with a new tutor it is good to message them to let them know what topics you are covering, enabling them to be prepared for the session. You can also message your tutors at anytime and upload any assignments you may wish them to look at. To do this simply login to your account. On your dashboard navigation bar click on ‘My Teachers’. You will see your teachers appear and on the righthand side there is a message symbol, click on the symbol and you can start messaging. If you have previously messaged your tutor you can just click on the message symbol in the orange bar on the lefthand side of your dashboard. This will also show you all past messages. Please note that tutors are not available 24/7 and they will respond when they are next logged in.
Most of our 1 on 1 students come in for 1 hour sessions, however this can be flexible depending on the needs of the student. For younger students we do also offer 30 minute and 45 minute sessions as we understand that not all young children are able to concentrate effectively for a full hour (particularly after a full day of school!) We can also offer 1.5 or 2 hour sessions for students that feel comfortable working with a tutor for that long. As the sessions are tailored to the student and they have the complete attention of the tutor, they are able to get through quite a lot of content in the 1 hour time frame.
Our Year 2 and 3 groups run for 1.5 hours total and cover both literacy and numeracy skills.
The Year 4, 5 and 6 groups run with 1 hour of English and 1 hour of maths (though it is not compulsory for students to attend both!)
