I have been been teaching English at secondary level for approximately 2 years and H1 General Paper for a year. My former "O" level English student had immense difficulty trying to grasp grammar and sentence structure concepts when he was in Secondary 3. Under my tutelage, he improved by leaps and bounds, from a medoicre "B4" in school exams to a stellar "A2" in the "O" Level examination.
I am currently tutoring one secondary 2 student from Presbyterian High School in Science. In just a mere 8 lessons, his science grades jumped from a 27/100 to 45/100 for his mid year examination.
Lastly, I also have experience teaching in a secondary school. From January to March 2013, I was a relief teacher at Ahmad Ibrahim Secondary School and taught Secondary 3 Biology and Secondary 4 Chemistry.
Primary level - English Higher Maths Mathematics Science
Lower secondary level - English Geography History Mathematics Science Social Studies
Upper secondary level - A Maths Bio/Chem Biology Chemistry E Maths English Geography Physics/Bio Physics/Chem Social Studies
Junior college level - General Paper Geography
Commitment / Other Details
I have completed my National Service and am currently awaiting matriculation into the National University of Singapore in August 2013. I will be reading Life Sciences at the Faculty of Science.
As of now, I am able to commit tuition full time. When university starts in August, my maximum commitment will be 2 hours, twice weekly.
Rapport Building
On the first lesson, I will set the basic ground rules expected of students. Some examples include handing up homework on time and restricting the use of mobile phones during lessons. I will also spend some time getting to know the student as well as his or her weak areas in the subject concerned.
Depending on the student's progress, I will set monthly quizzes and administer them. This will help me get a good gauge of the student's progress. Parents will also be updated on their child's academic progress on a monthly basis.
Keeping Up with Curriculum
For English and General Paper, my teaching method is centered around analysis techniques and large amounts of reading. I also encourage my students to write journals and essays at least once a week and will vet them to point out errors. It is my firm belief with frequent writing practice and supervision, students are better able to sense the flow of language and hence perform better.
For mathematics and science related subjects, I believe in building a firm conceptual foundation at the start. This is done through basic problem solving and logical reasoning between the student and myself. Once the student is able to understand the basics, I will then move on to more complex questions that involve higher order thinking skills.
As a Good Tutor
I believe a good tutor is one that is able to address the tutee's immediate academic needs and sort them in good time before the examinations. A good tutor should be patient with his or her tutee as different individuals require different amounts of time to grasp concepts. A good tutor should also encourage his or her tutee to ask questions whenever in doubt and not simply learn by rote learning. Lastly, a good tutor is one that goes beyond the call of duty by preparing additional resources for tutees to help better facilitate learning.
