Tutors help students to better understand a particular subject by reviewing material for a particular class or spending time teaching concepts students do not completely understand. A Python™ tutor is someone who specifically helps students to better understand the Python™ programming language. He will work with students on basic programming concepts, the syntax which Python™ source code must follow, and the ideas behind object oriented programming. A Python™ tutor can also help students to troubleshoot the source code for their own programs.
The proper use of punctuation, word placement, and sentence structure is key for students to make themselves understood when communicating in writing. Just as languages have syntax that must be followed in order for someone to be understood by other speakers of the language, programming languages have their own syntax rules for using punctuation in order for source code to properly execute as a program. The Python™ programming language has a syntax that is less complex than many other programming languages, making it easier to focus on general programming concepts and not on the syntactical rules of a specific language. For this reason, many introduction to computer science courses use Python™ to teach programming fundamentals. The language does, however, still have syntactical rules which students must follow, and a Python™ tutor may review these with students in the same way that English tutors review the proper use of grammar with English students.
Python™ is what is referred to as an object oriented language. This means that programmers can write out the code for a particular data structure, and then instruct the program to use this code as a kind of blueprint to create multiple, independently functioning, instances of that data structure. This can be an abstract concept for many students who are new to programming, but is a central feature of this and many other programming languages. A Python™ tutor can help students review the syntax Python™ uses to create the base code for these data structures, as well as the proper syntax and methodology for instructing a Python™ program to create multiple instances of a data structure from the base code the students created. A tutor can also review real-world examples of how software developers use object oriented programming to help students understand such complex topics.
Just as math tutors help students work through equations and English tutors help students with essays, a Python™ tutor helps students work through problems in the source code of their programming assignments. Reviewing Python™ source code with students usually gives the tutor the opportunity to work with those pupils on the language's syntax, correctly using basic programming ideas, and properly employing object oriented concepts. Working with the student on his or her source code can also help the tutor identify any conceptual areas in which he or she needs to spend more review time with a student.
