Justin

I discovered my passion for teaching during my time at Cambridge (PhD and post doc), when I spent 6 years supervising 1st year undergraduate students in pairs through their physics course - marking and going through weekly problem sets based on the lectures. I took great joy in being able to facilitate those "aha" moments, when I had been able to explain a concept in a new way to the lecturer and all of a sudden it all made perfect sense.

During this time I also noticed the gap between A-levels and University was widening so much that each year the 1st year course would be simplified, and the students at Cambridge were very good at answering exam questions but not actually able to demonstrate deeper problem solving skills that a physicist actually needs. I have made it my mission to change this...

Tutoring Experience

In 2012 I decided to make the switch from academic research to front-line teaching and have taught mostly A-level Physics (AQA, OCR A) in London schools for the last 10 years. At KS4 I have experience teaching IGCSE and AQA in particular.

I began working as an assistant examiner for Cambridge International Examinations in 2011 and was fast-tracked to become Principal Examiner on the S-level (between A-level and 1st year undergraduate) paper taken by the top 100 or so students in Singapore each year. I was able to develop questions that tested problem solving much more than rote learning to reduce the epidemic of "teaching to the test".

I have been involved with the Isaac Physics project since its inception (out of Cambridge) and have been an Ambassador for the past few years with the shared aims of exposing students to a multitude of tricky multi-step problems that encourage perseverance to achieve independence and success.

If you sign up to Oxford's FREE Preparing for the PAT course you will recognise me as one of the 2 guest lecturers as I have co-designed this course to introduce students to a toolkit of problem solving strategies to focus on picking the smartest and most efficient approach to answer 'real-world' questions.

Through my strong connections with the Ogden Trust, Institute of Physics, Isaac Physics and STEM Learning I have attended and delivered multiple (residential) CPD sessions to fellow (non-)specialist teachers as well as face-to-face and online masterclasses and STEM Camp days to cohorts of students in schools across the country.

In the past year, through word of mouth, I have been connected to a couple of A-level students who have been in need of physics tuition, and we've had a fun time. With them having now taken their exams I have a few hours available each week (more over the holidays), and am looking to continue my mission to help mould more future physicists...

Tutoring Approach

From my years of experience in the classroom and writing/marking exam papers (GCSE/A-level/S-level) there are a few key mantras that my students live by...

"To know what to do when you don't know what to do, you must first know what you don't know."
(This is not just about identifying weaknesses and gaps in knowledge, but also about how to approach a tricky problem - translating words into a clear annotated diagram and taking a note of possible stepping stones).

"40% of the exam will be maths-based, the other 60% is fluffy descriptions where you may need to guess what buzzwords the examiner wants to hear. Aim to get 100% of the 40% and then just 50% of the 60% will give you 70%, which is usually a top grade in Physics (GCSE and A-level)".
(Focus on the calculations and practice these daily through the likes of Isaac Physics - you do not want to loose any marks here, and this should be your foundation for success).

"True wisdom is knowing you know nothing at all" - Socrates
(There should be no fear of attempting an answer in case you think I'll think you're stupid. I already know that you're stupid, because I know that I'm stupid and I've got 20+ years experience on you).

"If learning the truth is the scientist's goal, then they must make themselves the enemy of all that they read." - Al Haytham
(The scientific method relies on having a questioning mindset and nothing should be accepted without rigorous evidence. The purpose of doing experiments is to attempt to disprove (not prove) a theory).

If you just want to reinforce/practice what's in the textbook then you don't really need a private tutor, there are plenty of free resources that I'd recommend you use - Seneca, Isaac Physics, GCSE or A-level Physics online. However, if you want to develop a much deeper understanding of how we know what we know and learn to become a proficient and efficient problem solver then I can help guide you on your journey to physics enlightenment.