How I teach:

The way in which I teach and the tasks I set are informed by my time as a Psychology student and trainee teacher. Dunlosky et al. (2013) published an excellent review paper of ten learning techniques and looked at the evidence for each one (highlighting key words is not as effective as students like to think, but distributed practice and practice tests were found to have high utility) and the results can be easily implemented.

I have extensive knowledge of the Science curriculum and AQA exam board; I know how to best work with a school’s learning pathway to consolidate pupil’s learning and make lessons impactful. When I am tutoring Maths, I prefer to use a lot of examples, modelling, and practice. When a student has fully grasped an area of maths, I like to move into interleaved practice and problem solving to maximise marks in the exam. I encourage pupils to see maths as a puzzle rather than something to be feared, and I am patient with students that have maths anxiety and low self-efficacy. I enjoy working withs students aiming to get that grade 4; and those seeking to challenge themselves and achieve a grade 8 or 9. I believe that maths can be a tool and a strong foundation in maths is vital to accessing the GCSE Science curriculum.

With regards to Science, I know how the curriculum builds from KS3 into GCSE and want to support students in building a solid foundation so that they may go on to excel. My science lessons tend to be more taught content, but I also use exam-style questions and past papers to check understanding and help pupils develop good exam technique. I use lots of diagrams to illustrate ideas and structures I love the subject and want to be able to pass on my sincere enthusiasm to students; Science explains so much of our natural world but also begs us to ask many more questions. The future of our planet and our individual health can be best understood with a robust Science education, which will be vital in deciding how to move forward and what decision to make.

I graduated from the University of Manchester in 2023 with a 2:1 in BSc(Hons) Psychology with placement year. I spent my placement year as a Learning Support Assistant; and I am currently a SEND Teaching Assistant in Salford, I have significant experience working with autistic and ADHD pupils, and am AuADHD myself. I was working as a full-time Science Teacher with TeachFirst but decided to move into the SEND specialism and take on more hours of tutoring. I have tutored over 400 hours of Maths and Science in the past year and plan to teach many more.