Information About Julia - Swords tutor

Personal Description:

My name is Julia and I am a third year student in Trinity College Dublin that is studying biomedical science and specialising in Physiology.

Last year, I was awarded with a Laidlaw scholarship which allowed me to gain experience in research, working with charities and leading a team. I have received training on team building, networking, time management, effective communication and leadership.

I am very passionate about biology and biological research but with an emphasis on animal free testing and lab work. This year I plan to be trained in as many animal free lab techniques as possible in order to have all the skills possible to set up an animal free lab (my goal for the future).

Apart from academics, I love music, dance, cooking and going to the gym. Another goal I have for this year is to improve my work life balance, setting aside time for my friends, family and hobbies.

Tutoring Experience:

From a young age, I always had a passion for teaching. My friends and family will tell you! Any time I learned about something new, I would be setting up the whiteboard in the living room and forcing everyone to listen to the lesson I had prepared.

As a dancer, teaching was an important part of dance classes. Every member of the dance school would teach each other any new steps, exercises and techniques we knew or discovered. This was a great experience to have from a young age as it taught me how to adjust my teaching method based on the person I was teaching, a very vital skill for teachers to have in my opinion.

Furthermore, I have worked as a team leader at Star camps, a summer camp for children between the ages of 4 and 12. During this time, I would have the responsibility of looking after up to 27 children, teaching them drama, songs, dance choreography and more. This experience has equipped me with the patience, empathy and understanding to teach.

Finally, I was a leading volunteer at a cat rescue in Dublin for almost a year. This job required welcoming new volunteers regularly and training for the job and working closely with the management. I required good communication, interpersonal and conflict resolution skills as well as patience. As someone that volunteered, I see the value of working and helping others without financial gain. This is the same mindset I plan to equip in my work a tutor.

Approach to Grinds:

Growing up, my favourite subjects in school were biology and chemistry but one of my biggest challenges was trying to find an effective study technique. I spent many hours sitting in front of a textbook re-reading the chapters but not actually taking in any of the information. It wasn't until my second year of university where I discovered how I study effectively. As a biology student that is very interested in neuroscience, I am constantly keeping up to date with the best and research backed study techniques for my studies. These are all techniques I plan to use with my students.

These methods include active recall using flashcards or whiteboards, summarisation using mind maps, and practice testing using exam questions (to name a few). These lessons will be carried out with spaced repetition. As I mentioned before, every student learns differently and I plan to provide my students with a space and the time to learn and study in a method that they find enjoyable and effective. My goal is to prioritise understanding over cramming and making learning as fun (as possible).

I do not plan to take on more than 3 students, to provide students with enough time and energy from me to succeed. Should they be interested I would be more than happy to provide them with higher level lessons in biology to give them a flavour of what university level biology is like.