Kevin

I am a chemistry PhD graduate from Heriot-Watt University. My research area was in theoretical chemistry, and was heavily involved in both maths and physics in addition to chemistry. During my doctoral programme, I had many opportunities to present results with colleagues within the university as well as in national and international conferences. Because of this, I am confident about explaining scientific concepts to a range of audiences. Previously, I received a first class masters degree in chemistry from Heriot-Watt University. Additionally, I have had experience in industrial chemistry, working for both Patheon UK and GSK in summer jobs and work placements during my degree course.

Tutoring Experience

I have been working as a private tutor for over fouryears. During that time I have taught students from all levels of secondary school including Highers and A-levels, university students and adult learners. As part of this, I have covered courses from the SQA, AQA, OCR and Edexcel, along with a range of universities.

I have taught lessons in-person and online. Most sessions have been to assist with formal taught courses, but I have also had experience with aiding students taking online courses, as well as being the primary teacher for home-schooled students.

As part of my PhD, I taught as a demonstrator in several undergraduate computational chemistry lab classes. This involved both helping the students with the practicalities of their experiments and in their understanding of the chemical concepts required to write-up their work. I was also assigned as a supervisor for a final-year mature student during their masters project, guiding him in learning the fundamentals of quantum chemistry and the software suit used by our research group, along with researching and writing his dissertation. This gave me an insight into teaching adult students both in theoretical concepts and assisting with formal writing projects. Theoretical study sessions within our research group gave me experience in discussing scientific concepts with colleagues, and informally teaching newer PhD students in a relaxed environment, complimenting the more formal demonstrating with the undergraduate students.

Tutoring Approach

I feel students learn best when they can understand the relevance and importance of a subject and so encourage them to take an interest in how a particular topic fits in with the rest of the field. I try to help students reach the answer to any issues themselves by building from first principles. I have a more conversational style of discussion, and encourage students to interrupt me if anything is unclear or if they would like more details on a particular area. I find that a strong way to gauge and reinforce a student's understanding of a topic is by going through exam-style questions and so incorporate these into my tutorial sessions.