Stephanie

I am a friendly and approachable tutor who enjoys interacting with and helping students to enjoy success in their studies, and have been teaching students of all abilities for over 12 years; focused on supporting GCSE and A-Level students to achieve top grades. I have a wide range of interests; having studied literature alongside my double degrees in Mathematics and Education, I am especially well equipped to communicate complex ideas to those who may not feel they are not naturally mathematically minded. I believe that, with the right motivation and support, anyone can experience success in their mathematical studies. I love exploring and explaining interesting and challenging maths problems and ideas, helping students to develop their problem solving skills, and discussing how and why mathematical theories and processes actually work. I would characterise myself as caring, warm, generous, flexible, resourceful, hard-working, and trustworthy.

Tutoring Experience

I have over a decade of experience teaching across all secondary year groups in support, general, and extension; including GCSE and A-level. In the most recent four years of my career I have been teaching mainly A-level Mathematics to students with a range of abilities, many of whom achieved A and A* grades and are now studying at Oxford, Cambridge, and Russel Group universities. I also have two years of experience teaching KS3/GCSE in England, and before that held a permanent position at Safety Bay SHS in Western Australia for six years; teaching KS3/GCSE/A-level equivalent courses and leading on A-Level preparation for the school's top GCSE-aged students. During this time I also worked as an ATAR (A-level equivalent) examiner for the School Curriculum and Standards Authority (Department of Education), and ran tutoring & revision courses through Academic Taskforce.

Tutoring Approach

It's vital to start by developing a positive and non-judgemental relationship with my student, and then to tailor my teaching to their personality, strengths, and areas for growth. I believe in fostering a love of Mathematics, and creating a learning experience where students are empowered to attempt any problem, by building their resilience and confidence.

I find many students struggle with memorising Mathematical rules and processes because they don't understand the reason it works - so in my teaching I always try to bring in the purpose of the Mathematics I teach; creating learning experiences where students are empowered to discover mathematical patterns, rules, and processes, in a meaningful and fulfilling way (before practising these skills for consolidation and exam preparation).

The biggest obstacle for students in Mathematics is the myth that they should find learning easy. Maths is all about solving problems - and the more challenged you are by something, the more rewarding your success will be. With over a decade spent in many different classrooms, I know that it is critical for students to develop the drive and understanding that learning is a journey and requires struggle. All journeys have ups and downs, challenges and successes, adversity, failure, and through it all; development. Students must be taught to embrace struggle, that without challenge nothing worthwhile is gained. That in fact unless they are struggling when grappling with an idea or process, they are probably not doing the right work!