Ian

Experienced teacher of psychology and exam marker for AQA.

I studied A-levels in Psychology, Sociology and Biology at Ponteland High School and went on to successfully complete my Psychology BSc (with honours) Degree at Northumbria University, graduating in 2003 with a 2:1. Passionate about education and helping children reach their best, I quickly found a job supporting students with special educational needs in an inner-city school. Whilst here, I was able to complete the Graduate Teaching Programme, enabling me to achieve Qualified Teacher Status in 2008.

Tutoring Experience

My experience and love of psychology started in 1998 when I first selected this subject as one of my A-level choices. Over 23 years later, I have come full circle and now look forward to every A-level psychology class I teach. I have worked in a high performing high school since 2008 and have delivered all topics from the AQA psychology specification across the full course. We currently teach schizophrenia, relationships and addiction as our Paper 3 options, but I have previous experience of teaching gender, stress and eating behaviour.

Tutoring Approach

In addition to my teaching I am responsible for supporting a full year group with their academic study; a role I relish and embrace. I consider myself to be approachable and patient with all students, enabling me to make positive working relationships that ultimately allows excellent progress to be made. Working closely with the student to identify any gaps in knowledge and creating a workable plan to bring about results, including creating essay plans, revision summaries to review whole sections, past papers, and building in regular retrieval practice - a vital technique often overlooked. I am passionate about applying psychological understanding to learning in general, so I would also be happy to use evidence informed strategies to optimise performance and general study habits across all A-level subjects.