Alan

I am a friendly, calm and patient maths teacher/tutor with a First Class BSc (Hons) in mathematics. I have 11 years of experience teaching in state funded and HMC schools and hundreds of hours of 1 to 1 tuition. I teach Higher and Foundation GCSE, all 3 strands of the A level (Pure, Mech and Stats) as well as Further Maths. I have mentored students preparing for University Entrance Exams (TMUA STEP and MAT) and US scholarships. I have experience working with gifted 9-11 year olds and a lot of experience working with SEN, particularly neuro-diversity including ASD, ADHD and Dyslexia.

I love to show people how beautiful and simple maths can be, there is nothing better than the Aha! moment. There are many ways of thinking about the same problem and I relish the challenge of finding the way that best clicks for my students. I regularly attend local teachmeets and national conferences such as MathsConf which keeps me up to date with new ideas and current pedagogy.

I have always taken pride in supporting others. I have recent experience as a Samaritan listener which has enabled me to further hone listening skills and also helped in my teaching career in quickly identifying what support is needed. I also volunteer as a mentor with a charity called Mentoring Plus. Here I have worked with young children with barriers to education which are not necessarily academic.

Tutoring Experience

I have hundreds of hours of experience across 12 years of 1 to 1 tutoring; from ages 9 through to undergraduate level. My exam students get excellent results and my other students make rapid progress in knowledge and confidence.

I have been teaching 11-18 years olds across both state funded and HMC schools for 11 years. This includes GCSE and IGSCE (Higher and Foundation) and A Level (All strands of Maths and Further Maths).

I have had Lead Responsibility for KS5 maths for 6 years, including 2.5 years as Head of Maths (KS3-5). I have a critical understanding of specifications and experience creating Schemes of Learning, Assessments and support plans.

I have 7 years of experience examining A level and International A level for Pearson Edexcel. I am able to pass on an excellent understanding of how to present work in an exam and manage time. I also see first hand the misconceptions held by students nationally and consequently am able to prepare my students with these in mind.

Tutoring Approach

Confidence is so key in mathematics, the biggest part of my job is to help students believe in themselves and recognise the significance of the successes they achieve and the progress they make. A large part of this is getting to know my students as individuals, their likes and dislikes, their strengths and weaknesses, and building a program with this in mind.

Making mathematics accessible to all is important, I use a variety of models/explanations such as the Singapore Bar Models and work out which one works best for each individual. Software such as Spreadsheets/Python/Geogebra/Desmos enable me to present the maths in a way that is easier to visualise and understand. I make maths as relevant as possible, for example, creating problems that link the maths to my tuttee’s hobbies and interests.

As a natural and passionate mathematician I am able to stretch the most able, and have an excellent track record teaching students achieving top grades at A level and GCSE. I also have many success stories with students for whom passing GCSE at the first attempt is a great achievement.

My style of teaching helps students develop their understanding of meta-cognition, how humans, and they specifically, learn. I normalise making mistakes and forgetting things as part of the learning process and the removal of this apprehension enables my students to be willing to step out of their comfort zone and into their growth zone. I also stress the importance of spaced repetition. I build this into my sessions, but also support my students in setting up strategies for themselves, for example to take our questions/answers and use the Leitner method with them.

I recognise the importance of repetition but the key to my success is asking probing questions. I make my students explain their work and ensure they genuinely understand the mathematics they are using and not just memorising an algorithm. When a new concept is not yet understood, the barrier is rarely the new concept, rather it is usually some prior knowledge not being understood deeply enough. Whilst I break down maths into its fundamental building blocks and give clear and detailed explanations, it is this questioning and ensuing conversation that is the most valuable part of 1 to 1 time with a tutor.