LoginAlexander - Bristol tutor
Information About Alexander:
Personal Description:
I'm a 33 year old Rolls-Royce aerospace engineer with a real passion for teaching. All my life I have loved helping others to learn (my little sister can vouch for that!), and maths was always my favourite class at school. I have a ridiculous amount of enthusiasm for the subject and love passing it on and infecting other with the love of maths (my friends, however, think I'm mad!). I think the thing I love most about teaching is the realisation; the point when the 'penny drops' and the student gets a thrill out of learning. This is why I love tutoring.
Teaching Experience:
I've had quite a broad range of teaching experience - whilst I'm an engineer by day, at night I'm a salsa dance instructor. A little different from classroom mathematics, yes, but the teaching principles of patience and encouragement are the same in all fields.
I started tutoring when I was at university and a friend asked if I would help one of her year-11 friends with her maths, and I was happy to oblige. This experience made me realise that I not only did I really enjoy it, I was actually quite good at it. She took her maths GCSE and came out with an A grade - her expected grade 6 months earlier was a C.
This experience lead on to me tutoring a year 9 boy for a year. His mediocre grades were pulled up to level 7 - entry level for higher exam papers.
Since then I have tutored many students; I usually have about 3 per year for various periods. My level of expertise ranges from year 9 up to year 13 in maths, and up to year 11 in physics. Although I LOVE physics, I wouldn't be comfortable teaching A-level (with one exception - Nuclear & Particle physics. This was always my speciality - so if you have a niche need, I would love to help!)
Tutoring Approach:
I adore the subject matter. My students have told me that my enthusiasm not only comes across when I teach, it actually rubs off on them. I aim to make my students LOVE their subject!
I feel that the best way to encourage a maths or physics student is for them to feel that they are really achieving something. Firstly allow them to explore the problem and see if they can work it out for themselves, then encourage and direct them towards a method so they don't feel like they are being spoon-fed. Extrinsic goals (doing it for someone else) are nowhere near as powerful as intrinsic goals (doing it because you want to) - my aim is to make the student find maths/physics - dare I say - fun(!). Once the student realises implications of what they are doing, and how important this esoteric language is to the world it really opens their eyes and makes them realise this is part of a thing much bigger than the problem in front of them.
Another quality that is absolutely paramount in a tutor is patience. Sometimes students just don't "get it". It's times like these that a tutor's mettle is really tested. I have learnt that a good technique is initially to repeat what you have explained, as if it's the first time, then explain it from another angle. Moving on to another problem and coming back to the tricky one later helps some students. The important factor is to remain patient and relaxed at all times. Be on their side. If you get frustrated then the student gets frustrated, and then you've failed as a tutor.
Subjects Taught:
Qualifications:
- MSc Aerospace Engineering
- BEng (Hons) Aerospace Engineering
- Mathematics 'A' level
- Physics 'A' Level
Further Information:
| Availability: | Weekends / Weekdays (all times) |
| Types of Tutoring: | Travels to you / From their home / Online |
| References Supplied? | Yes |
| Current DBS/CRB Check? | Yes |
| Additional Languages Spoken: | Spanish |
