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Asking great questions: the habit that makes tutoring work

In a class of thirty, most students never ask. One-to-one, they can. That is where a lot of the progress happens.

Written by the Brainhub Editorial Team Cites published research Updated 13 Oct 2026 5 min read

Key takeaways

1. Why questions matter so much

Researchers who recorded tutoring sessions found students asked questions many times more often than students in ordinary classrooms. Those questions steer the lesson to exactly what the student doesn’t understand yet.[1]

Good questions are also a sign of real thinking. A review of research on students’ questions in science found they help teachers see misunderstandings and push students to think more deeply.[2]

2. Turn “I don’t get it” into a great question

Point to the step

“I follow it until line three. Why does the 2 move to the other side?”

Say what you tried

“I used the formula, but my answer is twice what the mark scheme says.”

Ask for another example

“Could we do one more like this, but harder?”

3. Why the tutor matters

Asking means admitting you don’t know something. Students do that most with a tutor they feel relaxed with. That is why personality fit is the first thing to check in a trial lesson.

For parents: After a lesson, ask “What question did you ask today?” rather than “How was it?”

Try it now

Test yourself on this page

Answer in your head first, then check.

  1. 1. Where do students ask more questions: in class or one-to-one?

  2. 2. What makes a question easy for a tutor to answer?

Your next steps

  • Before your next lesson, write down one thing you got stuck on this week.
  • Use one of the three question starters above.
  • Tell your tutor if anything makes it hard to ask.

Sources

  1. Graesser, A. C. and Person, N. K. (1994). Question asking during tutoring. American Educational Research Journal, 31(1), 104–137. doi:10.3102/00028312031001104
  2. Chin, C. and Osborne, J. (2008). Students’ questions: a potential resource for teaching and learning science. Studies in Science Education, 44(1), 1–39. doi:10.1080/03057260701828101

This guide is general study advice. Every student is different. A teacher can help you work out what fits.