History teacher providing bespoke tuition courses to KS3, GCSE and A-Level students

I have a double first (BA) and Distinction (MPhil) from the University of Cambridge, and have applied my academic rigour in the classroom for the last three years in a mixture of state and private schools.

Achieving my QTS and PGCE in 2022, I have gained a strong understanding of the principles of cognitive science. As such, I have applied these principles both in the context of classroom teaching and one-to-one teaching. I believe it is important to embed good practices and procedures during tuition, whilst engaging and co-opting the student's interest in history.

I also have two years' experience as a tutor for two different year 10 classes, which really impressed upon me the importance of effective communication with stakeholders, namely students and parents. Above all, I appreciate the impact that positive reinforcement and feedback can have on a student's confidence and attainment. Building an effective rapport with my students, therefore, is just as important as well-planned, effective teaching.

Each of my lessons starts with a 'Do-Now', a series of factual questions in order to recall knowledge from previous lessons. This will be followed by a challenge question, in which the students can apply this knowledge in an extended written response, with opportunities for discussion afterwards. This will then be followed by the learning objectives and the 'direct instruction', where I explain the topic content in broad terms, before moving on to a main task (timeline, mind-map, reading comprehension). In the case of A-Level lessons, there will then be extended reading from historians (essential for achieving A* grades), followed by discussion. Finally, this knowledge will be applied in extended writing, either an essay paragraph or a shorter answer to a specific question, followed by formative assessment at the end where I review knowledge that has been gained during the lesson.

As a keen and passionate writer of historical and fictional prose, I am keen to impart my knowledge and experience to children, teenagers and adults, helping them to express themselves well in writing in contexts that go beyond historical writing and into the real world.