Lucy

I am a recent physics master's student graduate from the University of Manchester and am now a first year PhD student studying nuclear fusion energy at the University of York. I have been tutoring on another tutoring platform since the second year of my undergraduate degree (October 2021). I have really enjoyed the experience of working with students in both private and school settings and have found tutoring to be a rewarding and fulfilling way to work alongside my studies. I would like to leave that role as it does not offer much flexibility in terms of setting your own rates, but I would like to continue tutoring so I am looking to move platforms.
I have a passion for STEM subjects and following my PhD I hope to pursue a career in academia in a lecturing role. I really enjoy teaching subjects like maths and physics as not only do I get to help students understand topics that I know I struggled with and spent a lot of time worrying about at school, but I also get to help improve my problem solving skills and deepen my understanding of fundamental topics that I deal with every day. Finally, whilst tutoring I have worked with a lot of young women who have lost confidence in their maths and physics skills for one reason or another. I am incredibly passionate about providing a safe space for women to explore STEM subjects and gain confidence in their understanding of the content and their ability to problem solve.

Tutoring Experience

I have tutored on the MyTutor platform since late 2021 and have delivered over 700 lessons to date with only 5-star reviews on my profile. I have tutored students both on the school side, being matched with school students, and on the private side. During this time, I have tutored a range of ages from primary school to degree level in maths, physics, biology and chemistry, though I have mostly worked with GCSE and A-level students. I have acquired extensive knowledge of a range of exam boards. I have mostly worked with Edexcel and AQA students but I am very familiar with WJEC as this is the exam board I sat my GCSE and A-levels under. I have worked with students with a range of abilities and have experience working with mature students and SEND students. I have delivered both 1-1 and 3-1 sessions.
I am also employed as a graduate teaching assistant at my university and recently I delivered a lecture and seminar session to visiting year 12 classes. I am also working as an outreach ambassador, where I have been involved in York's Binding Blocks programme, assisting pre-16 and post-16 students with their online learning, and I have visited local schools and spent a day teaching year 8 classes about fusion energy and robotics.

Tutoring Approach

I always try to tailor my lessons to the specific learning style of the student. This usually involves me trialling a few different styles in the first lesson/s (long discussion vs drill questions vs only past paper questions) and working with the student to see what they respond to best.
My lessons are never just me lecturing the student. I always try to make it as interactive as possible, whether that means asking them to re-explain a concept or work through a derivation on the whiteboard together or talking through questions as they work on them.
Generally, for an hour session, I like to spend the first 20/25 minutes going through the theory and asking the student small 'check-in' questions as we go along. Then we will look through past paper questions specific to the student's exam board. We will go through one or two questions together with me providing helpful suggestions and then the student will work through the questions alone, approaching it as though they are sitting an exam. I ask them to explain to me what they are doing at each step so that they fully understand what each step in the question means and if they go wrong anywhere, I can step in and ask them to double check. This also helps students identify any weaknesses in their understanding of the topic or their approach to questions. Whilst we work through past paper questions, I will always make sure to focus on proper exam technique. I will discuss when certain words or phrases need to be used in a question or how to approach difficult problems that require some level of problem solving.
I provide a clear set of notes with examples and questions covering all levels of difficulty so that the lessons never become slow or boring. I will offer to send the student the notes and will provide homework and mark it as part of the lesson price, if the student wants this.