Florence

Tutoring Experience

I have worked together with a school tutoring children aged between 11 and 15 in Philosophy, Latin, English Literature, English Language and Religious Studies. This has involved preparing detailed material in advance, which I use to structure my lessons, taught over Zoom. This has involved helping students who are currently preparing for GCSE exams to learn the best ways to study information in depth and to use what they have learnt to prepare impressive exam-style answers. I am therefore well-acquainted with GCSE (and A-Level) marking criteria for all subjects I teach.

I have also taught undergraduate level at Cambridge to get to grips with writing university-level philosophy essays. I have helped teach advanced material and aid students in developing essay-writing skills at a high-level. This experience has been very rewarding and I have watched the undergraduates I have helped go on to perform highly in their first-year exams.

Tutoring Approach

Philosophy: I prepare material in advance about an interesting and important topic within academic philosophy (e.g. the ‘trolley problem’ and the ‘experience machine problem’ in ethics; the ‘ship of theseus’ problem in metaphysics, etc). I create a handout with several sections, including questions and interactive materials like videos and quizzes, which I then use to structure the lesson over Zoom. I sometimes set homework associated with what we have studied in the lesson, and use this to assess students’ progress and help them to hone their skills.

English Language and Literature: I pick a set text to discuss in class - Hamlet, or the poems of TS Eliot, for instance. I often ask students to prepare by reading in advance or use some of the lesson time as a chance to read through material together. As we progress through the material, I check in with students’ to gauge their understanding of the material and discuss their thoughts. I set homework to answer questions or write short essays on what I have taught.

Latin: I tend to structure these classes around the Cambridge Latin Course. I pick a translation or activity from one of the textbooks to work through in class with the students. I often get them to begin doing certain sections of the translation alone, for instance, before coming together as a class to discuss how they have translated the passage and point out where their might be room for improvement. I ensure students are progressing by regularly checking they are up to date on their Latin grammar and vocabulary (by setting short tests at the start of a lesson, for example).