Julia

I currently teach and research at Keele University. Following a First class degree and Master of Research degree at the same institution, I am now undertaking a PhD with the aim of continuing with academia full-time. I am a pragmatic and patient person. My standards are high and I get the best out of people whilst keeping them at ease. Nobody likes to admit an absence of knowledge, or that they are having difficulty in a particular area. My approach is to undercut that idea and encourage people to not only highlight weaker areas, but to provide them with the confidence and the knowledge to seek out the answers for themselves in the future.

Availability: Evenings and Weekend days.

Willing to travel: 15 miles

Experience: I am a current seminar tutor at Keele University and teach undergraduate level English. The modules that I teach range over five centuries and tackle critical theories such as Gender Studies, Postcolonialism, Marxist Theory, Space and Place, and Political Historicism. Author`s that I have taught include (obviously) Shakespeare, Austen, Dickens, Woolf, Defoe, Gaskell, Wilde, Trollope, George Eliot, Walter Scott, Byron, Donne, Steinbeck, and Marlowe. I also teach a number of contemporary texts as well. My teaching experience so far, as well as the three dissertations and current research that I am doing as part of my degree, means that I possess not only a breadth, but also a depth of understanding of these areas. I know what markers are looking for, and how to raise a student`s game to teach them to perform to the highest of that standard.

Due to the range of people and ages in my classes, I needfully tailor my classes to suit many learning styles. Throughout a lesson, I assess the impact of my material on the class, and if I think that adjustments need to happen, I make them on the spot. In one-to-one situations these assessments are made much more quickly. I normally propose an introductory session, where the student and myself can discuss learning outcomes, approaches, and identify problem areas in terms of learning - I offer a 50% discount for these sessions.

I like to let the student find the answers on their own terms. I act more as a guide to the material. I think that it is more fruitful (and encouraging) for the student to know that they have achieved success on their own merit I just ask the right questions.

I am able to truncate dense, complicated material into clear, manageable chunks. For students, it can be very daunting to admit an uncertainty or incomprehension of a subject, especially if they are unable to fully communicate what it is that is making them stumble. Consequently, I build into my sessions an element of trust I make the student feel comfortable enough to ask the pertinent questions, and venture answers, even if they turn out to be wrong. In this way students are given the confidence to take ownership of their own learning, and to achieve results that they previously thought were perhaps beyond them.