Grace

I graduated from Cambridge Univeristy in July 2022, where I read History, which continue to be a great love of mine. Whilst an undergraduate I served on the committee for the university wide history society, because I was very passionate exploring history beyond the curriculum, and eager to connect with like-minded people. After graduating I completed an intership programme at Financial Services Consulting Firm in London, and after completing this programme in October, I embarked on a gap year of travelling.

Tutoring Experience

Throughout sixth form (2018-2019) I tutored KS3 students and GCSE students in both English and History, and this really ignited my passion for teaching. These tutoring sessions were conducted in 30 minute to one hour sessions, during school hours. These sessions ranged from one-one-one, to group sessions with up to four students.
Throughout my second and third year at University (2020-2022) I partook in the college mentor system, in which I was assigned four first year students who also studied History to help guide and advise. This role comprised both pastoral and academic duties: I helped my mentees with their paper choices, helped with study skills and exam techniques, and offered oversight of their essays.
Whilst interning at Levrara Consulting Group from July-October 2022 I participated in an outreach program in which I taught Business Communications lessons to entry-level consultants in the Mumbai office, which essentially constituted hour long one-on-one sessions in professional level English.
Throughout July and August (2023) I will be working as a course coordinator at Oxford Summer Courses, hosted at Cambridge university. This is a supervisory role which revolves around organising and executing activities for the children, and acting as the first point of pastoral care.

Tutoring Approach

My teaching experience thus far has taught me that the best approach is to tailor my methods to the student. This is of course an approach that only works in one-on-one sessions, or in small groups, but I have always found that taking the first session to discern what methods students respond best to will allow you to achieve the best results.
For example, some students will respond better to instructions for an exercise if they watch their teacher demonstrate how to follow them first – for instance if the task is to write a paragraph for text or source analysis, the teacher would write their own paragraph in real time explaining to the student(s) each step as they go along. Some students, however, find themselves too influenced by the teacher’s example, and in turn will struggle to think for themselves and write their own version. This is just one instance in which a tailored approach can help individuals get the most out of their tutelage.
There are of course limits to how bespoke an approach can be, because certain elements I believe cannot be sacrificed – for instance if a student is preparing for a timed examination, then timed practice sessions are necessary. Certain exercises like this I feel are universally effective, and therefore should feature in any approach.
Beyond this individualised nature, my approach more generally follows the structure of identifying problem areas, and addressing them one by one. I find semi-regular holistic exercises, like writing a full-length essay, are the best means by which identify areas for improvement. I do also find that asking the students where they think they struggle can be a helpful additional exercise.