Rosie Baggott Baggott

I like to use example questions with simple context to go through basic knowledge, I then use more complex questions but still with simple to context to expand the students methods to fit more complicated exam questions. After basic knowledge is completely understood, I move on to past paper questions which are complex and have a more difficult context. I lead by example with a few of these and then I let the student try by themselves with gentle nudges if necessary.
Through my experience I have realized all students have the power to improve it can just be about confidence. My aim is to show my students they can do anything and once they realize that their grades will improve amazingly.
I can also set relevant and necessary homework and follow on exercises for independent work to show the students that they can do it by themselves when they can't rely on me being there to help. Many resources can be found online and I often point my students to these as they have step by step guides and in depth answers.
For biology and chemistry specifically, before moving onto any questions we first go through any prior knowledge then we build on that and practice it before using it on an exam question as scientific knowledge can be harder to apply as it may seem less logical. Before any questions we go through all the processes and terminology necessary so they have a deep understanding ready for exam questions. We then move on to the same question process.