Plácido M.

Hello, my name is Alex. I am a first year student studying Economics at the University of Leeds. In my spare time, I like to play football, as well as go to the gym and go out with my friends. I also enjoy watching football, and I support Manchester United. I have tutored 6 different students over the past 2 years for GCSE maths, with a variety of skill levels, but all of them achieving their target grades or higher. I went to Sir John Lawes School for both secondary school and sixth form. I achieved 5 8s and 5 9s in my GCSEs and A* A* A at A level. I’m now studying Economics BSC at the University of Leeds. I have always been passionate for maths and it has been both my strongest and favourite subject throughout my entire school life. I won the KS3 maths award.

I graduated in Mathematics and Computer Science from the University of Birmingham and teach Maths to students of all ages up to A level. I achieved A*A*A* at A level in Maths, Physics and Chemistry, reflecting the strong academic foundation I bring to my teaching. With my students, I ensure that their understanding of underlying methods is to the highest possible standard through rigorous practice. In my experience as a student, exposing yourself to different mathematical scenarios builds a great foundation for achieving the best possible grades. My biggest aim for my students is for them to constantly improve so that when they get to the exam, they are confident about any aspect of the syllabus that may arise. For my sessions, I will ask students what they wish to study and ensure I tailor the session around what I am told. If the student is undecided, I will plan lessons around pushing the student to challenge themselves in rigorous practice, with my guidance, around different mathematical concepts in their curriculum. For exams, my main aim is for students to achieve the best grades possible, meeting and exceeding their targets. My highest level of education is an MSci in Mathematics and Computer Science from the University of Birmingham. Prior to this, I achieved A*A*A* in A-level Mathematics, Chemistry, and Physics. I have over 3 years of experience tutoring students in Mathematics across a range of ages and abilities, up to A level. Through this experience, I have developed a strong ability to explain difficult concepts clearly, adapt lessons to each student’s learning style, and build both confidence and exam technique. My focus is always on ensuring students fully understand the methods they are using, so they can approach unfamiliar questions with confidence and achieve the best grades possible.

I am an English Literature graduate from the University of Birmingham, who is currently studying a Masters degree in Philosophy. I really enjoy English and Philosophy as they can be a really fun subjects to learn as well as teach. I found that at school my teachers made the subjects enjoyable, so much so that I got a grade 9 in my English Literature GCSE and a grade 8 in English Language as well as a grade A* in my Religious Studies A-level and a 2:1 in my English Literature degree. Therefore, I aim to help students improve their grades by making learning enjoyable because when something is difficult to learn it can be difficult to want to understand and persevere. As a tutor, it is important to understand areas of struggle and help to adapt them in a way that is more accessible to the student. I have achieved 10 GCSEs, in which I received: 1 Grade 9 in English Literature, 4 Grade 8’s (1 Grade 8 being in English Language), 3 Grade 7’s and 2 Grade 6’s. I have also achieved 3 A-levels and received: an A* in Religion, Philosophy and Ethics, an A in English Literature and a B in German. I graduated from the University of Birmingham as an undergraduate English Literature student with a 2:1 Honours and have recently graduated with a MSc in Philosophy, Mental Health, and Psychology.

Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology at West Virginia Wesleyan College (WVWC) - 4 years Master of Science Degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology at Georgia State University (GSU) - 2 years Teaching assistant (TA) for the biology department at GSU for 4 semesters at a biology laboratory course - 3 semesters Neuroscience research at the DKFZ in Heidelberg (Germany) with professor Hannah Monyer Currently doing a PhD in neuroscience at IRB Lleida located in my hometown, Lleida (Spain). Over 500 lessons taught to over 20 students in this platform Keen on helping students learn the necessary knowledge and skills to succeed in biology and chemistry for both A-level and GCSE exams My teaching experience includes teaching assistant position at a biology lab at Georgia State University (United States of America) for 4 semesters as well as teaching different techniques to lab groups at the institution I am currently enrolled in doing my PhD. I have also delivered over 500 lessons on this online platform to over 20 students seeking help for their GCSE, OCR, WJEC, and AQA A-level exam boards in both chemistry and biology. While my experiences both as a student and as a teacher have developed my communication skills by using the proper tone and terminology, I value the most having learned from the doubts and questions from my past students as well as having done many final past paper questions. Despite every student being different, experience helps tremendously. Some students are very advanced and prefer working on past paper questions by tackling some specific aspects of the exam board, while some others require a bit more work on some modules and require a session more akin to covering a variety of concepts. When teaching new concepts, I use self-made PowerPoint slides specifically designed to incorporate the knowledge required to succeed in the exam questions for that exam board. In these slides, I use a scaffolding teaching technique which is about covering fundamental learning outcomes prior moving towards the more advanced concepts. I also incorporate past paper questions in every lesson to ensure the student is engaging in proactive learning, and not simply passively listening to me talk for 50 minutes. Overall, my goal is to engage the student in his or her own learning by teaching them skills and by giving them greater focus in some areas of each module. A lot of concepts are covered in these exam boards but knowing where to place great emphasis surely fosters their learning. This is where experience teaching these exams really comes into play, and it will also help me quickly devise the best study plan for the student. To complement my online teaching sessions, I have a digital pad that enables me to quickly write notes, draw or paste diagrams to ensure the lesson is smooth and dynamic. Online teaching may seem, at first glance, limited in terms of being able to write notes, however, currently online learning has been greatly updated thanks to such devices. I am currently only teaching biology and chemistry from GCSE and A-level exams but not higher levels (i.e. not teaching university programs). Like many teachers, my personal preference are students that are keen on learning regardless of their starting point. However, I have taught students that needed motivation coming from me and I was able to help them significantly. I will be happy to answer any questions that may concern you in the trial session if these were not answered in this introduction or by any GoStudent agent.