Dmitri

As an Institute of Physics Teaching Scholarship recipient with Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) in Science & Mathematics and a Physics with Music degree from Imperial College London and the Royal College of Music, I strive to create a learning environment which is both fun and productive by connecting subject matter with my students' interests and setting challenges. I have experience teaching ages 7-18 across a wide range of subjects and exam boards including 11+/13+ entrance exam preparation for prestigious schools such as St Paul’s and interview preparation for Oxbridge and top Russell Group Universities.

My passion for teaching science and mathematics manifests itself in a desire to engage in scientific discussions and foster the innate curiosity of those around me. Born in Scotland and raised in the tropical rainforests of Costa Rica and Honduras, I enjoy adventures both close to home and in far away places. Through a wide range of interests, including music, composing, racquet sports, skiing, diving and astrophysics, I strive to maintain a close relationship with my pupils and challenge their interdisciplinary thinking and creativity. I believe that the best measure of success is when my students are genuinely excited about the subject matter and eager to bring their own ideas to the table; at the end of the day only then will I be satisfied my work is done!

Tutoring Experience

Working as a full-time physics and maths teacher at Harris Westminster Sixth Form and a private tutor for Holland Park Education, I have experienced first-hand the crisis that British schools are facing. I am extremely passionate about education and since graduating, have strived to address the falling standards of education through working closely with students of all backgrounds across the London boroughs.Through pedagogical research in maths and science as part of my PGCE and the creation of a curriculum designed to meet all aspects of the Teaching Standards, I strive to differentiate for the needs of all my students including Gifted and Talented, SEN, and students with English as an Additional Language (EAL). The flexibility of my lessons allows learners to go beyond the syllabus requirements to where their interests lie, and at a pace which suits them. Indeed, many of my students are going on to read courses at Oxford or Cambridge or are participating in Summer Schools at Imperial and UCL to expand the boundaries of their knowledge. Due to my perfectionist nature, I like to make students aware of any approximations and justify every step of the working. The use of concise and easy to follow standardised methods, cross-curricular connections, and analogies has resulted in significant improvements. For example, a student in my further maths class moved from a U to an A. This success is due to the fact that when a student is confronted by a problem they have not encountered before, they have a scaffold to fall back on consisting of the main principles necessary to solve that particular “class of problem”.

I often find enthusiastic students staying behind during lunchtimes and after school to dissect with academic rigour the new concepts of the day’s lessons. The reluctance to accept things at face value does them credit, since a satisfactory level of understanding must be accompanied by meticulous proofs. When posed with challenging questions, they will take the initiative to conduct their own research and then feedback to myself and their peers. I strongly believe the true mark of a student’s intelligence is not in their subject knowledge, ability to tackle unseen problems, or speed of learning; but rather in the ability to ask the right questions.

Tutoring Approach

I strongly believe the key to long-term memory retention and understanding lies in encouraging the learner to work out a problem for themselves from fundamental principles and engaging them through targeted questions in order to discover the solution rather than using a spoon-feeding approach. This creates a strong foundation from which one might tackle more complicated or previously unseen problems, which is particularly important since exam questions may invoke concepts from several disciplines.