Physics and Maths Graduate with over 10 years experience in AQA and Edexcel GCSE Chemistry, Biology and Physics.

Find out more about Orneste

• 1) When did you develop an interest in your chosen field and in private tutoring?

  I have always been passionate about Science since I was doing my GCSEs myself! I have then pursued Physics at the University of Birmingham and the University of Nottingham where I taught undergraduate students as part of my PhD work. I have had a teaching internship at St Mary's school in Hull that inspired me to continue to work on helping students achieve their desired results in Science.

• 2) Tell us more about the subject you teach, the topics you like to discuss with students (and possibly those you like a little less).

  I have over 9 years experience teaching GCSE triple science. It is important to target each lesson to the student's needs. My science lessons cover both foundation and higher level. At the beginning of the lesson we cover all the basics, the equations, the keywords that will be needed for a specific topic in Physics, Chemistry or Biology. Then, we apply this knowledge to real exam questions that are up-to-date and what the students can expect to get in their exam. There are some exam questions that come up every year that are a slight variation in one way or another from the previous year's questions -this helps my students understand what they can expect and how to answer specific questions, which keywords to use and where to find relevant equations in the provided equation sheet. Some six marker questions are harder to answer and I help my students work out how to obtain all six marks using tips and tricks I've learned over the 8 years of teaching GCSEs.

• 3) Did you have any role models; a teacher that inspired you?

  I think it is important to have a good relationship and understanding with your science teacher. Having a good and approachable science teacher will help the student feel more confident in their GCSEs. I was lucky to have that when I was doing my GCSEs.

• 4) What do you think are the qualities required to be a good tutor?

  A good tutor is not only knowledgeable but also skilled in fostering a supportive, adaptive, and motivating learning environment.

• 5) Provide a valuable anecdote related to your subject or your days at school.

  I have a student that has been with me since her year 7 and she is about to start her GCSEs now, who struggled with math, particularly algebra. We have worked together to move her from set 3 to set 1 in science and from set 3 to set 2 in maths. She still struggles with maths sometimes and we have developed a system whenever she gets stuck factorising an equation or expanding brackets and simplifying an expression I tell her to collect like terms - or in simple words - collect all the cats and dogs together (cats being numbers with an x and dogs being numbers that don't have an x). She found it difficult to understand how to manipulate equations and often felt overwhelmed during class at school.
  
  In our science and maths lessons together I often throw in some maths questions to help her remember what she's done a year ago as she struggles to remember all the different methods used in maths, the difference between applying Pythagoras or finding the area of a circle. She has come so far in the last two years and improved so much that her maths teacher at school ahs now moved her to set 1! Consistency and patience is key.

• 6) What were the difficulties or challenges you faced or still facing in your subject?

  Every student is different and every student learns at a different pace. It is important to target each individual lesson to a particular student. It is also important to develop trust and understanding with your student. Everyone is different and learns in different ways, thus having a few teaching and learning methods up your sleeve is a good approach!

• 7) Do you have a particular passion? Is it teaching in general or an element of the subject or something completely different?

  I love to see my students improve and their joy of achieving the result they wanted makes it all worth it in the end!

• 8) What makes you a Superprof (besides answering these interview questions :-P) ?

  I prioritise my students and their time. I am flexible and if a student is feeling unwell or cancel due to other reasons we can rearrange the lesson with no questions asked :)