Ian

I have been teaching in secondary education since 1992 and have a great deal of experience in tutoring students of all abilities.
My specialist subject is Physics, but I have a lot of experience covering Chemistry and Biology up to GCSE, from different exam boards. I also tutor Maths up to GCSE. In doing a Physics degree I have covered all the content up to GCSE.
I am currently tutoring this with a number of students. Three have been awarded Maths prizes in annual awards for most progress in the year at GCSE level.
I am familiar with each exam board and their new specifications.

My approach-
Simply, go over each topic, check understanding as we go through, then check memory and recall of this. Lots of students struggle to remember details, in particular, the relevant important details. I use exam board mark schemes as the points to remember.
From lesson to lesson I check recall of these points. This builds memory and recall skills, leading to building confidence.

At the same time I go through past paper questions with students related to the topic. This aims at testing recall, students` application of what they remember and importantly, how to phrase their answers. This helps students get a feel for what they need to know and how to phrase their answers in a time efficient way. This builds a feeling of comfort that they can meet this level of challenge.
Depending on where a student starts from, I build on each area, but spend more time on explaining to start, then memory and recall, then questions following on from that. This is building their development following Bloom`s Taxonomy of Learning.
Lastly I also link curriculum parts together to provide a big picture overview to provide a view over the curriculum.
I also provide materials to use as revision materials.

I aim to build confidence and capability side by side with each other. Looking to make short term successes that build up to longer term gains.
GCSE requirements direct the longer term direction of learning. Success at the end of secondary school is built upon good foundations. I aim to do this by checking all areas of development and linking this to other curriculum areas - Maths and English.
These areas will impact greatly in the new GCSE specifications:
30% of the marks in Physics are from Maths related marks, 20% for Chemistry, 10% Biology.
The nature of the new style of questioning requires a good level of comprehension for understanding what questions are actually asking of students.
I build capability in the subject as well as in understanding of exam technique.

I feel it is important to provide a broad balanced education to students and as part of my commitment to this I have been working with Wigan Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme for 11 years and have organised a lot of outdoor experiences for students - kayaking, camping, climbing as well as school overnight visits.

Should you have any questions please feel free to ask.

Availability: Evenings from approximately 5pm onwards.
I am only offering online tuition at the moment.

Willing to travel: 1 miles

Experience: High school science teaching since 1992.
4 years as a pastoral head of year.
3 years as school data manager.
8 years as a private tutor.
10 years as a Duke of Edinburgh Award leader.