Samuel

Hi! I'm Sam and I am a College Lecturer in Pure Mathematics at St John's, Oxford, having recently finished a PhD in pure mathematics at the University of Glasgow. Before this, I graduated with a first class masters degree in mathematics from the University of Bath in 2020.

From a young age I have been interested in mathematics and the fundamental part it has in our lives. During sixth form, where my confidence in the subject grew, I realised that I enjoyed helping people with mathematics and communicating mathematical ideas. This, and the fantastic teaching I received during my A Level studies made me want to have a career in teaching and the development of mathematics education in schools.

Outside of mathematics and teaching I enjoy running, collecting records, and cinema.

Tutoring Experience

My teaching experience started during my A Level studies, where I received many requests from my peers to help them with revision for exams. This led to my first "online sessions", a combination of a cheap graphics tablet and free computer software, resulting in an increase in mathematical knowledge and confidence for everyone involved. For me, this was a win-win situation, a way to consolidate my own knowledge and simultaneously help others. This focus on self-study and helping others helped me win the STP School Mathematics Cup for best A Level results in the department.

After completing my first year at university in 2016, I felt that I was capable enough to start tutoring, setting up a profile here on FirstTutors at the start of second year. That year I tutored people at GCSE and A Level both online and in person, learning a lot about effective teaching techniques on the way. After graduating I have tutored even more people across all parts of mathematics education.

Tutoring Approach

As a tutor I have always taken the approach of teaching the underlying idea and motivation for a concept as opposed to just teaching the specific method for getting full marks in the exam. This results in a greater understanding of the subject and so more permanent knowledge is obtained which is then applied in various example questions. I am incredibly patient and will always explain concepts in many different ways and from different points of view to suit each type of learner.

A year in industry as a biostatistician working with other departments has increased my ability to communicate mathematical and statistical ideas to a non-statistical audience. I have applied these new skills to my tutoring sessions and have had great results so far.