Nat

I'm a very patient and friendly Kiwi man, who has always been fascinated by physics, because it explains so much in our world.

I love trying to find the easiest possible way of understanding complex things, and I enjoy teaching them to people.

Tutoring Experience

I have done one-on-one tutoring of A-level maths and physics in Cambridge, UK, including contract work for CATS Cambridge international boarding school.

For two years, I provided one-on-one tutoring of first-year University Mathematics for a student who had a formal diagnosis of autism.

Tutoring Approach

In my experience, there are a few concepts that really improve the learning of maths and physics:

Firstly, grasping maths and physics requires 'model building'. That is, the student must build an internal representation of the concepts, rather than just rote learning. Working towards this goal requires a lot of patience from the tutor, until the student suddenly has the "Aha!" moment.

Secondly, visual and spatial metaphors are really helpful in understanding abstract concepts. I try hard to find good ones.

Thirdly, solid algebra skills (formula manipulation) are an essential basis for learning further maths and physics concepts. These are often a weak point for students. Therefore, I like to spend time up front getting the student confident with algebra, using my preferred visual metaphors.