Hanin

My teaching style

I am a flexible individual when it comes to teaching students, as throughout my A-level studies I managed to develop many different learning methods that aided my revision such as flashcards, mindmapping, active recall and blurting, that I feel would reflect positively on the way I teach. As a result, I would be able to adjust my teaching style depending on the needs and teaching preferences of the student, and assist them to find a revision method that would work for them if they are struggling with doing so. I would also be willing to adjust my teaching strategy to align with the nature of the topic being taught; as some heavily rely on recall and memorisation, such as particular important definitions, however others rely on depth of understanding and being able to apply this knowledge into real life examples.

I would first begin with assessing the student’s abilities and weaknesses, as some may need additional help with understanding the topics in their specification, others may struggle with memorising and recalling key definitions, processes and information, and others may need more help with improving their exam technique and dealing with application and analytical questions. After establishing the tutee’s needs, I will tailor their lessons to those accordingly to help focus on their requirements. I will also ensure that we are on track with what the student is covering in school and that we are covering the content in the same order to help ensure that their understanding is being coordinated.

The lesson would begin by discussing the lesson structure with the student, in terms of what topics are being covered and what goals we aim to achieve by the end of the lesson. I would ensure that there is still an element of flexibility and fluidity in terms of the lesson plan in case the student requires additional help with a particular skill or topic, just to ensure that they end the lesson with all their needs being met. I would then provide them with a ‘starter activity’ which could be to either test their knowledge from the previous lesson, to go through any homework, or to recap over any problematic topic areas, which would all assist in clearing up any misunderstandings and consolidate knowledge, yet also provides me an insight into their educational progress. This starter activity could be in the form of active recall, mind mapping or providing the student with a quiz or exam question to complete.

I would follow this with the main lesson, where I could utilise presentations, videos and diagrams, however if a student has an upcoming exam then we will focus some previous lessons to focus on consolidating and applying the relevant topics to exam questions to ensure they are well prepared. During my lessons, I encourage students to feel comfortable with asking questions and flagging up any concerns, as based on my experience of being a GCSE and A-level student, I have encountered many of my colleagues who were hesitant to ask questions, and I am hoping I can change that with my future tutees, as it is extremely important that their queries are being addressed.

After teaching the content, I will then work through a practice question aloud in order to demonstrate exam technique and how to apply the knowledge we have covered. I would then give the student the chance to work through some questions themselves, which we would then cover in order to identify any mistakes which we would correct, hence allowing the student to be able to reflect on what knowledge or skills they need to work on. At the end of the lesson I will make sure we briefly discuss what we will be covering next lesson and if there is something that the student wants to focus on in particular. In regards to homework, I will tailor the type of homework given specific to each student depending on their progress and if there are any particular skills that need to be practised by the student at home that I could then review with them in our following lesson.