Emilio Violato

I like to teach by helping students to understanding the research context in which we discover psychological phenomena. Why did a researcher ask this specific question? What is the theory behind it? How did they measure what they wanted to observe? Were their methods sound? And did they draw reasonable conclusions from what they observed? As human behaviour, cognition, and social interactions are complex it is important to understand how the research was conducted to be able to determine the quality of the research for yourself and to be able to offer alternative explanations.

Being able to understand and critic research will give you the ability to question what you are told and to find the strengths and weaknesses of the evidence before you. Not only does this increase ones understanding of the topic, improving exam and writing performance, but to question what you are told and to be able to critically ask if it makes sense is one of the most important skills you can apply when trying to understand the world at large.

I am a new tutor so I have yet to develop a standard format that I prefer to use with students. But broadly I like to engage the student by asking a lot of question and to use questions to nudge students in the right direction. I like to positively encourage students and I understand that many students do not only want to learn the material for their courses but seek to develop self-belief and confidence, and I try to foster this however I can.

I have experience with formal academic teaching as I have guided a bachelor student's internship who was working under me for a research project. I also have experience getting two masters students theses off the ground as they were working on a project based off of my research. For both the intern and the thesis students I had taken great care to introduce them to the underlying theory and methods needed to autonomously carry out their projects while always being available to them for support.

I have also taught a workshop on assessing competency in health care professionals at the AMEE conference last summer which required me to find the right balance of direct lecturing and classroom engagement through questions and discussions.

Outside of academia I have experience coaching various youth sports teams at different skill levels. As well, in a previous role as a customer service supervisor it was my responsibility to train new staff both through formal training procedures and through informal on the job training.

I have experience with wide range of psychological disciplines with a particular focus on health psychology, cognitive psychology, educational psychology, research methods, and statistics. I take great joy in sharing my knowledge and I love to help others achieve their goals. So if you are looking for help with your courses I would be more than happy to take on new students!

All the best,
Emilio