Chlo

Education changed my life and opened opportunities I did not imagine possible, taking me from inner city Chicago, to the halls of Oxford University and now London. Passionate to engage students of all ages in their education, I bring a positive attitude, structured lesson plans, and experience adapting content to meet individuals at their level. With two First Class degrees from the University of Oxford, my subject knowledge is extensive. As an administrator and tutor working directly within UK schools for the past year and a half, I am also keenly aware of national curriculum requirements and the challenges of classroom education, as well as varied developmental needs and how to support individuals through customised learning plans. With over a decade of peer support and tutoring experience, I am confident I can help learners reach their goals and develop not just skills in the subject, but boosted confidence to approach ongoing studies!

Tutoring Experience

I have provided tutoring for over a decade, beginning when I was a student myself through the National Honor Society in the United States, as well as private tutoring for high school aged students. I was proud to see my tutees achieve their desired grades and in one case, progress from a passing grade to excelling. My passion for helping learners grow their skills and confidence led to continued tutoring and peer support in my capacity as an Access Ambassador with Wadham College, University of Oxford, through which I developed engaging 'taster' lesson plans for prospective students from underrepresented backgrounds. This role also involved classroom management and peer support activities pertaining to the stages of university applications and how to develop resilience within high pressure academic environments. Continuing to grow practical teaching skills, I have spent the last year and a half as an administrator and tutor with Team Up, a London-based charity providing English and maths tutoring to over 1,000 young people (KS2-KS4). I received training in supporting young people with SEND, handling difficult conversations, and Safeguarding. Working directly within U.K. schools and in collaboration with qualified teachers, I gained extensive knowledge of the national curriculum and targets for each key stage. I created customised lesson plans to meet national standards as well as students’ own needs. The majority of pupils were able to improve their grades and reported increased confidence, and on average, secondary pupils who started working between 3 and 17 months behind in their learning, by the end of the 12-week tutoring programme, progressed by around 10 months. In this role, I was responsible for quality assuring volunteer tutors as well as myself, and continue to bring a self reflexive approach to any tuition relationship as well as awareness of best pedagogical practice.

Tutoring Approach

My approach is empathetic, structured, and self-reflexive. I begin any tuition by getting to know a student’s general interests as well as anxieties around a particular subject. Especially with national curriculum requirements in many schools in the U.K., it is easy for young people to feel disengaged or unable to connect within classroom settings. Beginning a tutoring relationship with honest discussion of what they hope to achieve and their barriers to access sets a foundation for greater resilience when approaching a tough subject area. As an educator, I believe strongly in the importance of setting goals and making sure tutees have a clear idea of what they would like to work towards. Bringing this structure into each session, I approach individual topics first by checking in about previous week’s learning, the priorities for a given day, and what is expected during the session. At the end of each session, I require students to take a short individual quiz or ‘check in’ before giving feedback and reflecting on what they have learned, developing not only an increased sense of confidence and recognition of their capabilities, but embedding a process of recall and spaced repetition which will help students to make the most progress possible. While my approach is thus strongly structured, I always maintain an adaptive approach, asking students how they are feeling and what works or doesn’t work for them as individual learners. With my experience working with students from disadvantaged backgrounds and young people with SEMH or SEND, I have learned how to adapt lesson plans to a diverse array of needs and how to have productive conversations which improve the quality of tuition. I understand that education cannot just be a top-down process, but is a collaboration, and feedback should be met with self-reflexivity in order to establish a safe environment for making mistakes, learning, and growing fully.