Teach psychology online in English

Psychology surprises most people who start studying it. They expect to learn why people think and behave as they do, and the first things they meet are sampling methods, standard deviations and a page of rules for writing up an experiment. Much of tutoring psychology is showing a student that the statistics and the theories belong together: every claim in the textbook rests on a study, and every study can be questioned.

It is also a subject crowded with names. Milgram, Asch, Piaget, Bowlby, Loftus and Palmer, Baddeley and Hitch: a student can often recite what each of them found and still go blank when asked how far the findings can be trusted. A good tutor turns that list into a habit: for every study, the student learns to ask who took part, what was measured and whether the result would hold outside the laboratory.

Why we are looking for psychology tutors who teach in English

Students on Clasora see the tutors who teach in the language they are using the site in. Someone browsing in English sees tutors who teach in English, so if you teach in English, those are the students who will find you.

In psychology the language of teaching carries real weight. The subject has a precise vocabulary that looks like everyday English and behaves differently: “significant” does not mean important, “reliable” is not the same as “valid”, and older papers call their participants “subjects”. A student who treats a correlation as proof of cause loses marks in answer after answer. Essays and lab reports have their own conventions too, and students need to see them in the language they write in.

Clasora is not an employer, and this is an opening, not a job. You work independently: you set your own prices and hours, and you teach as much or as little as you like. For some tutors it is a side income next to study or research; others teach enough hours for it to take the place of a job.

What teaching psychology online on Clasora looks like

The work is fully remote: every lesson takes place online, from wherever you happen to live.

Students book straight into your calendar. They only see the times you have marked as free, shown in their own time zone, and you decide how much notice you need before a booking and how far ahead people can book.

Lessons run in the browser, and neither of you installs anything. In psychology, screen sharing does most of the work. You can put a study's results table on screen and go through what it does and does not show, open a statistics package such as SPSS, jamovi or R and run a t-test together, or sketch a neuron and a synapse in a whiteboard app. For essays, a shared document works best: the student writes, and you comment on the argument paragraph by paragraph. The in-call chat is the place for a term or a reference the student wants to copy, and background blur keeps your room out of the picture.

Between sessions, you and each student share a conversation. They might send a draft lab report or a screenshot of statistical output they cannot make sense of. Messages, files and shared links sit next to the sessions they belong to, so last month's essay plan is still there when the next essay comes along. Your own summaries of key studies can live in your personal file area, and documents can come across from Google Drive. Google Calendar can sync with your Clasora calendar if that is where you plan your week.

What students tend to ask for help with

Research methods: experiments, observations, questionnaires and case studies, operationalising variables, spotting confounding ones, and writing a hypothesis that can actually be tested.

Statistics: descriptive statistics, standard deviation, significance and p-values, effect sizes, and when to use a t-test, a chi-square test, a correlation or an ANOVA.

Biological psychology: neurons and synapses, neurotransmitters, brain structure and localisation of function, hormones and the stress response.

Cognitive psychology: models of memory, attention, perception, eyewitness testimony and decision making.

Developmental psychology: attachment, the theories of Piaget and Vygotsky, language development and moral reasoning.

Social psychology: conformity, obedience, attitudes, prejudice and why bystanders so often fail to help.

Personality and individual differences: trait theories, the Big Five, and how intelligence is defined and measured.

Approaches and debates: behaviourism, the psychodynamic and humanistic approaches, nature and nurture, free will and determinism.

Classic studies and their evaluation: aims, procedure and findings, then validity, reliability, generalisability, sampling bias and ethics.

Essays and lab reports: building an argument, writing a clear method section, and referencing in APA style.

Preparing for a test or an exam: learning studies well enough to use them in an argument, and answering against the clock.

Who we are looking for

You know the areas of psychology you offer well: you can explain a theory, describe the research behind it and say where that research falls short.

You are at ease with research methods and basic statistics, since nearly every topic leads back to them.

You explain clearly in English and can put a technical term into plain words without losing its meaning.

You might teach psychology already, hold a degree in psychology or neuroscience, be a psychology student with a strong grasp of the subject, or use research methods at work, in user research or market research for example.

You teach psychology as a subject and keep the lesson there, even when a topic such as stress or attachment feels close to home for a student.

You have a computer with a webcam and a microphone, and a reliable internet connection.

You are 18 or older.

Teaching experience is useful but not required.

What you get

No commission. Whatever price you set, Clasora takes none of it.

Free to join and publish. No subscription, no listing fee.

Your own prices. Each session length gets its own price, and a free first session is up to you.

Your own hours. You choose your weekly hours and days off, the notice you need and how far ahead students can book.

A public listing page. Your listing gets its own page, which search engines can find and each visitor sees in their own language. It shows your photo, an intro video, what you teach, the languages you speak and your price for each session length.

Useful reviews. Reviews score you on knowledge, clarity and engagement.

Checked qualifications. You can add your degree or teaching qualifications to your profile, and a moderator checks them.

Lessons in the browser. Video with screen sharing, background blur and in-call chat, and nothing to install.

How to start

Sign up with the button on this page.

Publish a listing for psychology.

Open your calendar and mark the times you are free.

It takes a few minutes. When you become a tutor you accept the terms, and a moderator reviews your listing before it is published.

Questions tutors ask

Are these lessons a form of therapy or counselling?

No. The lessons teach psychology as an academic subject: theories, studies, research methods, statistics and writing. Students come to understand the subject, not to talk through personal problems, and you neither diagnose them nor advise them on personal matters.

Do I need to be a qualified psychologist?

No. You need a solid command of the psychology you offer and the ability to explain it clearly. If you hold a degree in psychology or a teaching qualification, add it to your profile and a moderator will check it.

Can I teach only research methods and statistics?

Yes. Your listing says what you teach, so you can offer the whole subject or only the part you know best.

How do I help with an essay or a lab report without writing it for the student?

Work in a shared document on screen: the student writes, and you question the structure, the evidence and the evaluation until the argument holds. Drafts can go back and forth in your conversation between sessions, and the finished piece stays the student's own work.

How do I get paid?

Card payments are not switched on yet, so for now a booking is confirmed without a card and you settle payment with the student directly. Clasora takes no commission on what you charge.