Ewan

I am a former PhD student at the University of Edinburgh where I studied computational astrophysics. My work was on the development and analysis of numerical models to simulate the formation and evolution of galaxies. Throughout my PhD I taught a variety of undergraduate physics courses and involved myself in many outreach events such as school visits and tours. If you have visited the Edinburgh Royal Observatory on the annual open day then we may have already met! Prior to my PhD studies I obtained my MPhys at the University of Sussex, where my dissertation was in the field of theroetical cosmology.

Tutoring Experience

Throughout my PhD (2020-2025) I taught many undergraduate-level courses at the University of Edinburgh, including: mathematics for physics 1, programming and data analysis, computer simulation and numerical recipes. I was responsible for: teaching students one-on-one; teaching large classes of students; in-person marking; grading assessed coursework, and grading report-style assessments. I received lots of positive feedback from students during my time as an assisstant tutor, amassing hundreds of hours of teaching experience.

In the summer of 2019 I worked as an associate tutor for the University of Sussex international summer school. This is a highly-acclaimed initiative wherein american medical students spend eight weeks learning a condensed physics course. This counts toward their progression in medical school, and as such the teaching standards were very high. My duties involved teaching undergraduate-level physics to classes of 10-12 students, wherein I would demonstrate problems on the whiteboard and answer their questions in real-time.

In the 2017/18 academic year I worked part-time as an assistant tutor teaching GCSE maths, at a local college, to a class of mature students (aged 18-60+). During these lessons I would interact with students individually, helping them with any problems and topics they were having difficulty with. Furthermore, I would often take aside small groups of students who were taking the higher paper, and teach them the material that was not covered in the main lessons.

Tutoring Approach

I adopt a relaxed and patient approach to teaching, encouraging students to experiment within their solutions and make mistakes. It feel strongly that 'rote' learning, especially within the mathematical and physical sciences, is a barrier to an intuitive and fundamental understanding. I aim to build student's confidence by working from the ground up, answering the 'why' as well as the 'how' in our approach to problem solving. I provide clear goals for students, whilst encouraging them to follow their curiosities as they learn.