Eddie Standen

Approach to Tutoring:
In general, I believe that, particularly for Chemistry, the mark schemes for both GCSE and A-levels are among the most valuable teaching resources. I emphasise the importance of devoting significant time to studying these mark schemes, as they provide the most condensed and precise form of the course material.

I have also observed that my students tend to perceive chemistry as a subject which largely relies upon memorisation. I do not believe this to be the case, and I have found success when I use the approach that only the definitions must be memorised and from that, the rest of the course can be rationalised. (again, I would be more than happy to discuss this in more detail on a call).

Currently, my preferred method is to begin by giving a new student an exam paper (or a relevant section) to identify their strongest and weakest subject areas. I then prepare material directly from the mark scheme to address one of the weaker areas at the start of a session.

A Typical Session:
A typical session begins with a short test on three definitions suggested for memorisation from the previous week, followed by new definitions for the upcoming week. I then provide brief instruction on a particular topic, often one that the student is currently studying in school, before moving on to past exam questions. I generally spend most of the session working through past exam questions, providing additional teaching about a subject where necessary to address gaps in understanding. In this way it seems like the delivery of content to the student is more efficient and minimises excess information which may not be entirely relevant.

In the lead-up to a student’s exam, I like to provide additional help outside of the tutoring session when they are stuck on individual questions either through email or messaging.