Colin

Hi! I'm a PhD student in Ecclesiastical History at Durham University with extensive online teaching experience. I have a first class undergraduate degree from the University of Oxford in Theology, and a Master of Philosophy in Theology with Distinction, also from the University of Oxford.

Before coming to university, I attained a "5" (the highest possible mark) in the United States Advanced Placement exams (which are roughly the American equivalent to A-Levels) in European History, American History, English Literature, and Government & Politics. I'm confident that I can help you or your child achieve similar results!

On a more personal note, I love to travel and so far have been to four continents, am borderline addicted to chess, and adore the novels of Shusaku Endo. Most weekends I can be found exploring old churches, and boring my friends with the details of what I find there.

Tutoring Experience

Though I am relatively new to this particular platform, I have been tutoring online for seven years now, in subjects including History, English, Religious Studies, Politics, general exam preparation, and even Rhetoric. I have also taught undergraduates at Durham University for the Introduction to the History of Christianity, Introduction to Christian Theology, The Reformation and its Legacy, and God & Evil modules, as well as lecturing at Cranmer Hall (an Anglican theological college) for the module Introduction to the History and Doctrine of Christianity.

I have also taught History, Theology, and Politics in person for four sessions of the Oxford Institute summer school, during which time I have guided hundreds of students through those challenging subjects, and given them the tools needed to both develop a greater understanding of the world around them and more specifically to ace their exams.

Tutoring Approach

Each lesson is custom tailored to the needs and abilities of the student; there is no one approach that I take for all my students. I do, however, have a guiding educational philosophy, which is that students learn best when they are able to take ownership of their own learning. Therefore, rather than simply providing students with information, I generally set them some preparatory reading before our lesson, and then in the course of the lesson challenge them to develop their own understanding of the material (of course, filling in gaps in knowledge where appropriate) rather than simply explaining it to them. This both strengthens the analytical abilities of my students and creates deeper and more lasting understanding. A student is far more likely to recall something they vocalised themselves (even following extensive encouragement and prompting) than something they merely heard.