Privately educated and experienced student, UK, UCL 1st class honours, all A* at GCSE and A-Level, offering Maths up to A-Levels and Further Maths up to GCSE.

Learn more about Naomi

• When did you develop an interest in your chosen field and in private tutoring?

  I first became interested in the idea of tutoring when I was nearing the end of Sixth Form. Throughout my time in school, I found that I enjoyed spending my spare breaks and lunch times explaining topics in Maths, Biology, Chemistry, English and even RS to my peers. I found this to be highly rewarding, and a good way of solidifying my own knowledge. As I got older, and I wanted to make a bit of money to save for university, I thought tutoring would be the perfect fit for me. Since I've always loved education and the process of learning, tutoring seemed to be the most natural next step for me to take.

• Tell us more about the subject you teach, the topics you like to discuss with students (and possibly those you like a little less).

  Primarily, I teach Maths. I also teach Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and English from time to time. Maths is my passion, and my favourite subject. Every time I have a lesson with a student, no matter what sort of day I've had, I find that explaining mathematical concepts, and seeing my students gradually begin to understand, brings me a great amount of joy. The hour flies by before I even notice.
  
  I love all the topics I teach, but in particular I love algebra. On the surface, I think algebra can look like a complicated string of numbers and letters. But, with a simple set of rules to follow, this complicated mess becomes much easier to understand. Once you've learnt those rules, you're well on your way to understanding a huge component of the entire Maths syllabus. I also find the process of manipulating and simplifying algebraic expressions to be immensely satisfying. I love to write down my workings, and I encourage my students to do so too!
  
  I don't like teaching loci and translations as much, simply because it becomes more challenging to teach these topics in an online setting. To get around this, I pre-record videos of myself, for example, creating certain constructions with my compass, so that my students have a good understanding for what to do.

• Did you have any role models; a teacher that inspired you? Provide a valuable anecdote related to your subject or your days at school.

  Up until Year 8, I felt quite jaded by the process of learning Maths. Although I loved to learn, Maths just wasn't clicking, and that meant I wasn't doing so well in Maths class. My teacher, Dr Horleston, helped me tenfold with my Maths confidence.
  
  I remember the first lesson I had in Year 8. He stood at the front of the class and got us to write down a series of rules to follow for the year. The most influential of which was "MATHS IS NOT ABOUT THE ANSWERS". I hadn't realised up until that point that the reason why I was struggling so much with Maths was that I was afraid of getting anything wrong. Dr Horleston helped me realise that it was not a bad thing to get answers wrong, or to not understand. In fact, he taught me that getting things wrong was just a means by which you improve. By the end of the year, I became much more confident with asking my teachers questions, and I became a much better Mathematician because of it.
  
  Now, when I notice a student of mine jump straight to asking me "is my answer correct?" when they're learning a new topic, I always get them to take a step back. I ask them what workings out they've done and why they did those workings out. Usually if I do this, they can identify their own errors, or at the very least it encourages them to ask questions about aspects of the task they do not understand.

• What do you think are the qualities required to be a good tutor?

  First and foremost, you have to love the topic you teach. If you tutor the same sort of topics on most days of the week, like I do, it's important that what you're teaching doesn't ever become boring to you. Luckily for me, I've never felt this. I find that my experience of teaching is different for every student that I have, no matter if the topic that I'm teaching is the same. I find it fun trying to figure out which explanation, or methodology will make sense for which of my students.
  
  That being said, another quality needed to be a tutor is persistence. In my experience, it can take time, and multiple different explanations and recaps for information to settle in. It all depends on the student. I've had several students in the past who have had ADHD, dyslexia, or who have just been very young. In these circumstances, I needed to take the time to figure out how to adjust the structure of the lesson to fit their needs, and to help engage them to the best of my ability. It might take several tries before you get it right, but its always rewarding once you have.

• What were the difficulties or challenges you faced or still facing in your subject?

  As a teacher, it's important to realise that the knowledge that you have will not always be the best, or the most up to date. I have encountered several students who have explained the answers to questions to me in ways that I hadn't really considered before, or methods that I had never encountered (especially from my international students). At times like these, it can be difficult to not feel as if you are a worse tutor, simply because you do not know everything. Instead, I choose to shift my perspective towards thinking of these times as a learning opportunity. It's nice to have experiences with students where we can both learn from one another.
  
  One of my current students is also planning on taking A-Level Further Maths. Because I wanted to take a language, I did not have the opportunity to study A-Level Further Maths. This year, my challenge is to learn Further Maths independently so that I can continue to help him out going into his final year.

• Do you have a particular passion? Is it teaching in general or an element of the subject or something completely different?

  Apart from teaching, I have a real passion for Psychology and Neuroscience. In fact, I just got a first-class honours degree in Psychology at University College London. Now I'm planning on taking a year out to focus all my attention on tutoring before returning to academia to complete a master's degree in Neuroscience. If I love anything more than teaching, it's learning, and so in the future, I plan to have a career in neuroscientific research.

• What makes you a Superprof (besides answering these interview questions :-P) ?

  I can honestly say that its my students who make me a Superprof. I'm grateful to each and every one of them for trusting me with their education. This platform has allowed me to connect with people of all backgrounds, of all ages and learning levels from across the world. I would never have had that opportunity otherwise if I didn't become a tutor.
  
  My students have taught me how to tailor my teaching to their individual needs, whether that be in how I explain things, what methods they prefer, how to engage them, or what they find interesting. It's a constant stream of teaching and learning, and I couldn't be happier to be a part of it.