Scott D.

Hi, my name is Scott. I’ve been a professional tutor since 2014 and worked with over 500 students from the UK and abroad. I earned my PhD from Durham University in 2013 having achieved 1st class honours in Geology as an undergraduate. I’ve also studied at Leicester, Cambridge, Royal Holloway and understand the British university system very well.

I started tutoring undergraduates while at Durham and enjoyed it so much it became my professional career. I realised that tutoring was something I was good at when students started to replicate my results and look forward to our sessions.

Since graduating, I’ve developed my coaching skills and worked on understanding personality, ability and individual differences through psychometrics. I’ve also been featured on several media appearances, including the BBC and written many publications on effective practices for students.

When I am not tutoring, I love to travel and was fortunate enough to do my PhD fieldwork collecting rocks from volcanoes in SE Asia. I also love sports, reading, coaching; and unsurprisingly, learning. I recently came across the term ‘multipotentialite’ in a TED talk, used to describe someone who has a diverse range of interests, and I think this best describes me.

To be an effective tutor, you must be more than just a great teacher. It also requires being a great coach and mentor. I quickly get to know my students on multiple levels; from their personality, to their current skill levels, abilities and goals. I always personalise lessons to meet the needs of the student and focus on the things that will have the biggest impact on achieving their goals.

These are my top 5 principles for delivering effective tutoring lessons:

1. Understand the person and develop strategies that work for them
2. Set goals on a regular basis (both short-term and long term)
3. Focus on skill building and understanding rather than memorisation
4. Use great resources to assess the students progress
5. Make lessons engaging and fun

My tuition is entirely student-focused. Different students require different approaches to achieve their desired results. The goal is always to work with you to get the result you want in the most efficient way possible and make learning effective and enjoyable. For some students, that means focusing more on developing their knowledge in key areas, for others it’s improving exam technique or organising their workflow a little better.