How I work
RatesI’m not here to take the place of a teacher. What I can do is concentrate on the parts of the syllabus that the student finds most tricky. I work with the student to fill the gaps in his/her understanding and to increase his/her confidence in the subject. I work face-to-face, usually in the student’s own home, and using the student’s own textbooks as the basis for study.
I bring a wealth of experience from industry and routinely illustrate concepts in maths and physics with real life examples, which helps understanding. I also have a small library of relevant books which I can lend to students to supplement their own reference material. (No extra cost!)
First session
Our first session starts with a ‘get to know each other’ session. I want to find out where the student’s weak spots and concerns are. We both want to figure out if we can get on with each other.
This usually doesn’t take too long and we get down to work, tackling the problem areas.
Subsequent sessions
Subsequent sessions are driven by the needs of the student.
This can be
- going through work that’s already been done in class
- going through homework that has proven tricky
- getting a head start on new topics
It all depends on what’s been going on in school. The underlying principle is always to help the student with the areas s/he finds tricky.
Run-up to exams
In the run-up to exams I tend to spend a lot of time going through past papers. I recommend the student attempts a past paper in as close to exam conditions as possible. Then s/he should mark it using the mark scheme. Any problems come to me at the tutoring session where we do whatever is necessary to ensure the student understands where s/he made errors.
Partnership
Tutoring is a partnership between the student and the tutor. Provided the student puts the work in, I know I can help boost his/her confidence and ability.