A bit about David W

Hello! My name is Dr David Watson. I am a full-time chemistry teacher at Monmouth Schools and an experienced remote chemistry tutor. I have taught pupils from around the world, taking them through IB, A-levels, IGCSE and GCSE exams. I have also prepared pupils for the Chemistry Olympiad and guided them through the challenging material so that they can best place with a medal. I have a wide range of resources tailored to remote tutoring for a wide range of abilities, whether you are just looking for a passing GCSE grade or gold medal Olympiad award. I can help guide you on your journey to success. I specialise in Chemistry at all levels including: KS3 science IGCSE (Edexcel) GCSE (all exam boards, triple and double award) A-level (all exam boards) International Baccalaureate Chemistry Olympiad I am also experienced with second language pupils based abroad and have tutored many pupils across the globe. I particularly have lots of experience with Chinese pupils studying for English medium exams. I teach pupils with a wide range of abilities and have resources and strategies for assisting those who struggle and stretching those who need it. There is no typical lesson! Each pupil will have specific needs and requirements and I ensure I spend the first session exploring their experience of their course and probing their understanding. I will then put together an appropriate program for them. Pupils struggling with their studies will receive extra support through glossary and fully worked solutions with thorough explanations and rich questioning to help guide them. They will receive appropriate, confidence building questions in a verbal and written format. The goal ultimately is to find those foundational issues that are causing them problems and eliminate them. Pupils looking to stretch to an A* or 9 will receive resources and coaching designed to stimulate their interest and push them to actively apply their understanding to unfamiliar situations. I have a wide experience in chemistry from physical chemistry through to pharmaceutical research. This helps me to bolster the materials they are required to know and give them some real world context for the theory they are learning. Pupils preparing for exams will be able to tackle targeted past paper questions that build their confidence, with immediate access to a subject specialist, in such a way that doesn't intimidate but will still push them outside of their comfort zone. We will use targets, timers and fully annotated worked examples to help boost their grade as much as possible. I have been tutoring for 5 years and have 8-10 clients spread over a typical academic year. This enables me to focus on individual tutees as much as possible. The majority of my experience is focused around 1 to 1 remote sessions, but I have tutored in person and in small groups. I have strategies and resources tailored to a wide variety of lesson formats. Chemistry is such a unique subject. It is heavily practical and yet has extremely challenging theory. Its subtopics have such vast and far-reaching implications. It is a personal pleasure of mine to help pupils to realise just how important these seemingly trivial topics really are and inspire them to go deeper into the subject. I love discussions that encourage thought and I get my pupils talking about the chemistry they are learning as much as possible. I use rich questions as a way to really make pupils stop and evaluate their own understanding. The one phrase I absolutely love to hear from my pupils in my sessions is along the lines of "oh... that's weird!". It so brilliantly highlights that active, critical thinking which is so important for achieving a good grade in chemistry. When a pupil has been struggling with a topic for a while, but despite this has been working hard at it. Then, suddenly, you see that moment of understanding crystallise in their mind and it suddenly becomes second nature to them. That is one of the most rewarding feelings for the pupils and it certainly one of the most rewarding for me! I want my pupils to leave their education with more than a good grade, I want them to know the joy of truly understanding a subject and the sense of empowerment that comes with confident understanding of such a critical subject. I aim to for my pupils to develop mastery of the skills that will be important to them. Skills that they can carry with them for the rest of their lives. I teach years 7 to 13 of all abilities. I have in school teaching experience of: The Chemistry Olympiad A-level chemistry (AQA) IGCSE chemistry (Edexcel) GCSE chemistry (AQA trilogy) KS3 science I have tutoring experience for all of the above also, but in addition: International Baccalaureate IGCSE (CIE) GCSE (AQA synergy) I am an amateur computer programmer and I love to experiment with genetic algorithms to produce software that learns. I love to garden, and I am also an avid skiier and badminton player. I had a pupil, who in the 4 years that I taught her, went from struggling to understand the basics of GCSE, to achieving a 9, to getting an A at A-level. They are now training in veterinary science. Helping such a hard working pupil through her problems to achieve that grade in her final exam was by far the most rewarding part of my teaching experience. PhD chemistry - Cardiff University Mchem (Hons) Chemistry 2:1 - Cardiff University A-level Physics, Chemistry and Biology (A,A,A) I have also completed professional academic development courses: Converting A's to A*'s A-level Chemistry Core Practical Endorsement That it's relaxed, and friendly. Everyone has a voice in the class and we explore why answers are right or wrong rather than just giving a simple 'correct or incorrect' response. In my experience, you learn much more efficiently when you are comfortable. Sharing scientific ideas is essential for the betterment of humanity, and it's something that I love doing. I absolutely love helping people arrive at that moment of realisation where it all clicks into place. It's something I strive to help someone achieve with every lesson!