Dawn
University of Lancaster
PhD Sociology
Graduate
1About Me
Hi! My name is Dr. Dawn Jones and I am an experienced Sociology tutor. I have a first class degree in Sociology, and a PhD in Sociology from Lancaster University. I have taught Sociology at undergraduate, post-graduate, and A level since 1996 and feel privileged to be able to engage others in a subject that I am passionate about. I am a research active Sociologist myself, researching and publishing in journal articles and text books. I am also an experienced exam marker with the AQA exam board, marking the A level Sociology specification (papers 1, 2 and 3).
In addition to my lecturing work, I hav tutored students for A level Sociology since 2017, online and face to face, and have consistently helped students to improve their grades, resulting in many cases in successful entry to the student’s university of choice. I aim to inspire students to be critical thinkers, who actively seek to apply the sociological imagination and to enjoy the process of learning.
My teaching style
I have 30 years teaching experience and have always found that students learn best when they can relax and enjoy engaging with new ideas and ways of thinking about the world. I have been told that I have an engaging teaching style, with the ability to break down complex ideas so that they are meaningful to students. I apply a scaffolding approach to my teaching, layering on knowledge and skills when I feel the student is ready, adding depth and detail until students feel confident and in control of their own learning. I don’t put students on the spot – instead we approach tasks together albeit in a student-centred way. Students have told me that they always look forward to their sociology sessions with me, and parents frequently email me to say that their child’s confidence in the subjct increases vastly after our sessions.
My past experience
I have been teaching undergraduate Sociology (BA (Hons) Sociology) and A level Sociology since 1996. In terms of my A level tutoring, I have taught a range of abilities, from students that fear they will fail their exams, to those who wish to improve by a grade or two. I am confident teaching online as well as face-to- face, and have taught one-to-one up to a class of 400 students.
My Proudest Achievements
I have helped students achieve their objectives – for example moving from a predicted fail grade to a pass (B) from a C to an A, from a B to an A* (to cite just a few examples). My proudest achievements however are when I hear the words ‘I get it now, it makes sense!’ at the end of the session. In terms of my own personal acheivements, these would be my first class degree in Sociology (and being awarded a prize for the best first class degree across the Univeristy that year) and my PhD in Sociology.
I teach
- Sociology
My Results and Achievements
- A* at A-Level
- Award for Highest Score in my year at University
- First class degree in Sociology
- PhD in Sociology from Lancaster University
- experienced exam marker with the AQA exam
- students' grades consistently improved.