Angelina

Hi! I'm Angelina, and I've just graduated from the University of Oxford with a first class honours degree in medical sciences and I'm now continuing my studies in clinical medicine at Oxford.

As a medical student, it goes without saying that I really love science! There is something fantastic about sitting in a lesson and knowing that the metabolic reactions you are reading about are occurring in you right now.

It is easy to forget the sheer awesomeness of the sciences when you know that in a few months you will be sitting exams in them. Revising for a subject is easier when you enjoy it and that is something I would love to help my students with. Not only am I passionate about my subject- I am also passionate about ensuring that students truly understand the concepts that they struggle with. I am very adaptable, whether you prefer topics to be explained through diagrams, analogies, or very word-y descriptions- I am happy to oblige! Until we find an explanation which works for that student, I will try to explain it as many times, in as many ways as I know. At the end of a session, I ask my students to explain to me what they have learned to try and catch any gaps in their knowledge.

I probably sound like a bit of science-nerd here, but I do have other interests, which range from rowing and rock climbing, to chess and gardening. But what can I say: the mathematics of chess, or the physics of rock climbing- we need science to explain all these hobbies too!

Tutoring Experience

I've been working as an online tutor for an agency for over two years and in that time I've delivered over 1000 lessons and seen a number of my students achieve the highest grades in their exams. I love tutoring- there are few moments as satisfying as when you see one of your students finally understand a topic!

Although I already have some experience, it obviously takes years to become the best teacher that one can be and I'm always looking to improve upon my teaching skills. This Summer, I've been working towards my TEFL certificate at English language schools across China, which has really helped me improve my own abilities in engaging and communicating with students from different backgrounds.

Tutoring Approach

I use three core approaches to teaching my students:

The first of these involves finding an explanation for a complex topic that works for a student. Topics like equilibrium or electromagnetism don't always sit right with students, and one of my skills is coming up with many different analogies to try to help students grasp these complex topics. As well using verbal analogies, I draw my own diagrams and encourage my students to do so as well, and wherever possible, I try to set up virtual science practicals to make lessons more fun and interactive for students.

The second of these stems from a quote by Albert Einstein. "If you can't explain it to a six year old, you don't understand it yourself" and this is a belief that I stand by. After my students and I have covered a topic, I always ask them to explain it back to me and try to pick up on any gaps in their understanding to ensure that they have found a comfortable home for the information in their brains.

And finally, as much as I wish I could just spend hours discussing the fun bits of science with students, I realise that we all have exams to prepare for and that even students who know all the content can struggle with exam technique. As a result, for any topic that we do, I make sure that my students and I look at a selection of exam-board specific practice questions!