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Information About Patrick:

Personal Description:

I am a postgraduate student at The University of Edinburgh studying for a Master's degree in Philosophy with a specialization in Mind, Language and Embodied Cognition. I have a First Class degree from The University of Kent in English Literature and Film Studies.

Teaching Experience:

I worked full-time as a Teaching Assistant last academic year (September 08 to July 09) at an inner-city secondary school in London. Whilst there, I provided one-to-one tuition to a broad range of students. I worked with a number of GCSE English students on their coursework for the subject. I successfully applied the training I had received at the school in Direct Phonics -- an approach that focuses on improving a reader's ability to match the most basic sounds of spoken English to there written counterparts -- to students with severe and mild reading difficulties. I also provided classroom assistance in English, Math's, Science, History, Geography and Religious Education.

Tutoring Approach:

My approach to tutoring naturally varies from student to student. For a student who is bright and articulate but is not achieving the results they are capable of because of a difficulty expressing their ideas in written form, my standard approach is to focus primarily on the set of essay writing skills relevant to their examination criteria (GCSEs, A Levels, Scottish Highers, etc). These include, understanding and thinking critically about essay questions, the level of detail appropriate for a given question, how to structure arguments, how to translate ideas into succinct written descriptions, etc. On the other hand, if a student does possess good essay writing skills but finds it difficult to formulate ideas or think creatively about the subject -- or who simply wants to explore more advanced concepts in the area -- then I find that challenging conversations and brainstorming exercises are the most effective strategies for developing their understanding.

For students with severe reading and writing difficulties I take a basic skill based approach. Helping improve their reading ability and expand their vocabulary through direct phonics training (as mentioned above) and/or working with them to construct basic phrases and sentences.

Qualifications:

• B.A in English and American Literature and Film Studies (First Class Honours)
• Advanced Level English Literature
• Advanced Level Media Studies
• GCSE English Literature and Language

Further Information:

Availability:	Weekends / Weekdays (evenings)
Types of Tutoring:	Travels to you / From their home
References Supplied?	Yes
Current DBS/CRB Check?	Yes