How do I motivate my child to learn A-Level Economics?
I (George Chantry) voice dictated every one of these articles to give my honest, transparent view on economics A-Level tutoring to answer parent questions, having worked in the tutoring industry for nine years. Please WhatsApp me if you want to discuss anything in the articles further or have any further questions.
I get asked this question a lot by parents who come to me for A-Level Economics tutoring. I turn around demotivated A-Level Economics students all the time. I am an engaging, dedicated professional economics tutor who puts my whole being into helping students see the benefits of dedicating themselves to Economics A-Level and getting the most out of it.
Here are the six things that actually work — each one backed by what parents and students have written in their reviews.
1. Quick wins in school tests change everything
When students see their school test scores improve, that is often a great source of motivation. It is often possible in just a few lessons to get students a good result in their school tests, which can change their motivational frame to being far more constructive and positive. I have had many students get the best mark in their class in school tests after only a few lessons with me. That experience gives students a concrete example of themselves succeeding, to build and improve upon, so it can snowball motivation in the right direction.
"In just a few weeks he managed to help my sister build a strong foundation in the elements of economics and as a result, she achieved the highest grade in her class."
Juliana
"With a few sessions his Economics grade has shot up from B (based on start of the term mocks) to a medium to high A (based on the recent A Level mocks)."
Jin, parent
"Her confidence in both parts of Economics has rocketed... after just a couple of sessions with George, her tutors noticed her progress."
Gemma, parent
"Only after a few lessons my son has managed to grasp the key topics and approach the Essay type questions with huge confidence. He had previously struggled for months trying to achieve his best results despite working relentlessly. I wish I had known George a lot sooner as he has unlocked my son's confidence and potential in very short period of time."
Satbir, parent
2. A serious mentor who embodies dedication to economics
Students often improve in their motivational dedication towards economics the second they get a real, serious mentor who explains the benefits of economics education and why it matters. I dedicated myself thoroughly to economics when I was at Oxford, securing three prizes in economics from working exceptionally hard on the subject. I can therefore embody a serious dedication to the subject, which I impart through enthusiasm and passion in my lessons. Students often pick this perspective up from me, which improves their experience of Economics A-Level tremendously.
"He always comes out of the lesson, looking enthusiastic and motivated."
Jin, parent
"He has reinvigorated her drive and determination to aim to achieve A/A*. His teaching style is thorough and motivating."
Natalie, parent
"Economics seems to be emerging as his favourite subject."
Andrew, parent
"His tuition was an integral part of his choice of taking Economics at University."
John, parent
3. Giving students real reasons to take economics seriously
Students' engagement can soar when they are given real reasons to take Economics A-Level seriously. I always take the time in tutoring lessons to explain that economic models are like the London Tube map — they are useful simplifications. You would always use the London Tube map to navigate around London, even though it does not perfectly depict London. In the same way, companies, the government and consumers use economic theory all the time to navigate complex policy-making and economic decisions. I link the diagrams, models and theory from Economics A-Level to the deeper theory and motivation behind the subject. I connect every diagram to its real-world application to drive home the motivating ethos behind economics as a subject — a useful simplified model, like the London Tube map.
I find that especially when the tutor is gripped by the logic and importance of the economic theory, it is far more compelling, memorable and engaging for the student as well. For the least engaged students, I often ask them what their future career plan is — many say finance or something economics-related — and then point out the immense utility of economic theory for their future success. I noticed in myself that having well-developed reasoning for why I should study always helped with my motivation. So at the very least, it is valuable to allow students to formulate their own idea of why they should study economic theory.
"Huge knowledge and enthusiasm for the subject."
Josie, parent
"George is an incredibly motivated economics tutor and has helped me so much with writing evaluations and understanding the more complicated parts of the A-Level economics specification."
Agee, student
"His lessons are engaging, insightful, and tailored to make complex economic concepts easy to understand."
Iryna, parent
4. Reinforcing exactly what students are doing right
The manner in which a tutor approaches lessons also tremendously aids motivation. The first thing I always do when I read a student's essay, notes, homework or school work is point out immediately where they did something specific that aligns with the exam technique and exam requirements of Economics A-Level that should be encouraged and rewarded. For example, use of diagrams is heavily rewarded in A-Level Economics essays because they are the foundational models. So it is very important to highlight where students automatically use diagrams accurately in a way that answers the question, and point out specifically why what the student did was good, so that they can understand how to replicate it next time. This reorientates their exam answers towards the material that answers the exam questions most precisely.
Students often just need precise professional attention on what they are doing in their essays that is working, since many of them benefit from greater awareness of how examiners credit answers. Demotivated students in particular need a lot of precise, targeted reinforcement of exactly what they are doing that is working. The one-to-one attention in tutoring sessions often helps in this regard tremendously, because I can really explain in detail what is working, whilst pointing out everything that is counterproductive.
I had a student at Westminster who improved from 6/25 in his 25-markers to scoring 22/25 in just two lessons. I gave him extremely detailed feedback on what he was doing that was working versus irrelevant and unimportant material that could be discarded or cut.
Nowadays it is easy in online lessons to dictate all the precise feedback for the student on how they can improve. I provide a point-by-point detailed email of all the things they are doing well versus all the things they can amend and change. Students tell me they really like these emails and review them regularly between lessons to understand in greater detail what to focus on. This individualised feedback works particularly well for students who have great foundational knowledge but are not well-orientated in the exam on what exactly they need to do to get the marks.
"His feedback is specific and constructive, addressing our son's individual needs."
Patrick, parent
"Really impressed by just how perceptive and responsive he is to our son's needs... really encouraging, positive and clear about learning steps and skills."
Deana, parent
"As parents, we receive regular detailed updates on progress — something I personally find extremely useful given that feedback from teens is a rare event in our home."
Sheetal, parent
"The feedback is detailed and comprehensive."
Nisha, parent
"He helped me develop strong chains of analysis, which significantly boosted the quality of my exam answers. Thanks to his support, I've gone into my exams feeling confident and well-prepared."
Zeynep, student
5. Precise diagnosis of what each student needs
Having a precise diagnosis of what each student should be working on is highly motivating as well. I have had many students improve — up to four grades, regularly D to A — through scaling lessons to their exact level so they can make the most progress. A good tutor has to have fast measurement strategies to understand the level of students. I review all the work of students by asking them to scan their whole economics folder for me, so I can see all the gaps. Many students unfortunately miss foundational material in the subject and get left behind in school lessons. I use a combination of reviewing the whole school folder to find gaps in knowledge plus the student's own opinion on what they do not know, to locate exactly what will benefit the student the most.
Often, the second students receive tuition targeted at the missing pieces of their knowledge base, their scores, motivation and enthusiasm rocket immediately. Students say: "I get it now — previously, I was just copying out lines on a page for the diagram, not knowing what they mean, and now I understand in detail the logic behind each diagram."
A huge value added from tutoring is calibrating lessons at the zone of proximal development of the student. That is the set of things a student can quickly grasp that are needed for them to reach their self-defined goals (scoring an A/A* in A-Level Economics, for example). Since I am completely fluent in the syllabus material for A-Level Economics, it is straightforward for me to locate exactly what each student is missing in their core knowledge base. I can then fix precisely what is needed for each student in order for them to feel more confident and see concrete improvement in their grades. I have seen many students rocket in their confidence, interest and performance in economics after I remedy their foundational knowledge gaps. They can follow along with school much more clearly as well, which is really helpful for their confidence and engagement. I actually think I deliver the most value added for students who got lost at school and need foundational aspects of their knowledge fixed; I have seen repeatedly very large improvements for these students in my tutoring sessions.
I set homework every lesson at the level of every student. Since I keep a detailed record of everything I say in lessons, I have a tremendous amount of data on every weak point or area every student needs to specifically improve. This enables me to set highly personalised homework and lesson plans. These tremendously improve student motivation and engagement as well.
"Extremely clear in explaining concepts and filling in any gaps that our son hadn't grasped in group classes at Sixth Form College... our son jumped from a Grade D to a Grade A and has got into his first choice of university."
Emilie, parent
"He was only achieving 'C's in exams and had a predicted grade of 'B'... in his recent PPE mock he achieved an 'A'. This would not have been achieved without George!"
Julie, parent
"I have made rapid progress, moving from the bottom of the class to the top of my class, consistently achieving top marks."
Ross, student
"Proactive identifying the gaps swiftly then tailoring each lesson to our daughter's specific needs."
Altina, parent
"He adapts his teaching to address my son's weak areas and he does not apply a blanket approach."
Jin, parent
"He helped me achieve an A where I was struggling to get Bs."
Jacob, student
6. Laying out the clearest pathway to an A/A*
Finally, I have put a lot of effort and dedication into making sure I lay out the most straightforward pathway to getting students to engage and learn A-Level Economics so they can secure an A/A*. I have put a lot of attention into preparing a vast number of resources describing diagrams, evaluation and analysis. I have found that showing the student exactly what a great answer looks like, and getting students to explain it back to me in their own words, is extremely useful for making sure students succeed. Students often benefit a lot from being given clear guidance on what is needed to succeed.
When I was at Oxford, I was lucky enough to be taught by the head of game theory, who was a very motivating, charismatic and lovely person. He took me out for a drink after I got the best mark at Oxford in his game theory exam. He provided us students with detailed solutions for all the past papers, which he mostly penned himself, and categorised all the exam questions by type to make it as easy as possible for us to study and succeed. I really liked his approach, and I did practise every past paper and compare my answers in detail to the model answers he provided.
I try to offer as good an experience for my students as that professor offered to me. So I write down model answers for every essay topic. I organise all the past papers by type. I write down the solution to every question in detail. I give students a clear bullet-point plan for which documents to look at and in which priority. I found at Oxford that having a clear model answer to learn backwards from motivated me, because I could see exactly what was needed to score the highest marks in the exam. I therefore replicate this experience for my own students by giving them a worked model solution to every major essay topic, so that it is motivating for them to learn and study.
"He provides model answers that are geared towards meeting the needs of examiners by ticking the right boxes. He also makes sure, step-by-step, that Owen truly understands each aspect covered by having him explain back."
Andrew, parent
"The extensive resources he prepares for lessons, including detailed notes and past papers, show his dedication to helping me grasp economic theory effectively."
Ross, student
"A well-developed strategy and extensive teaching materials. His lessons are engaging, insightful, and tailored to make complex economic concepts easy to understand."
Iryna, parent
"He is becoming more confident in recognising how to answer 25 mark questions. George has been very focused in how he can best increase Alex's marks per question."
Joy, parent
Have a question about your child’s A-Level Economics? Message me — I reply to every one personally.
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