A bit about Patricia P

I love teaching my subject, and endeavour to pass on my enthusiasm for and knowledge of Biology and Science. I have many years of experience working with children and young adults in classrooms, labs and online. I work with my students in a positive manner to ensure that they reach their maximum potential and achieve their goals. I specialise in A Level Biology, GCSE Biology, GCSE Combined Science and KS3 Science. Biology is close to my heart and it is a priveledge to teach this fascinating subject. I have a wide experiences of teaching different age groups and abilities. My lessons are student led and tailored to their personal needs. I like to explore how my students learn, process and remember information. Every child is different, every child has a preferred learning style which enhances their studies for them. I first started tutoring 25 years ago when I was studying for the final year of my degree. I enjoyed it so much that I decided to pursue a career in teaching. Since then I have tutored consistently and successfully throughout my working life. I hope to continue offering my support and experience to young people online. Biology is the best subject on the curriculum - it is about you and me, and the world around us. Biology raises our awareness about our body, about nature, about global warming. Biology is never boring, I believe that it is fascinating and I love to pass this joy in my subject on to my students. My style of teaching is tailored to the needs of my students ; I am enthusiastic and work hard to develop their understanding of the subject being studied. I am learner led in terms of learning styles, I use different methods across a lesson, discussion, question and answer, visual aids open book learning, usually ending in an informal plenary and a reflection of the lesson. My favourite thing about being a tutor is the interaction I have with young people. I love to see them starting to understand a topic, questioning discussing and realising that they have a new concept of biology that they now fully understand. My philosophy as a teacher is to create a positive environment which promotes creative and critical thinking. Learners should be supported to achieve their academic learning goals and encouraged by constructive feedback about their work and progress. My learners enjoy their studies with me. I have a very positive attitude and this is conveyed to my students. They see that I love my subject and my work and this promotes good relationships and a positive learning environment. My greatest successes have been with students who have felt like they were failing due to to circumstances beyond their control. They lacked self confidence and had lost sight of the end goal. I developed plans with SMART targets and worked alongside them to enable them to achieve their goals in GCSE Bioligy and Combined Science. I am well qualified to teach Biology and Science. I have a 1st Class Honours Degree in Applied Biology (1995). I then worked in FE whilst working towards my Teaching Certificate. I have other Key Skills Certificates and Assessor/Verifier Awards (City&Guilds) achieved over the years. Alongside this I have experience of teaching a wide range of age groups I have taught a wide range of IGCSE, GCSE and A Level exam boards including Cambridge, OCR, Edexcel and AQA. Ages taught range from 11 to 19. My interests outside of teaching include swimming and walking for exercise. I love craft activities, sewing and being creative. I have recently achieved Spanish GCSE and am studying the language in my spare time My inspiration for teaching began when I started tutoring during my degree studies. I loved it, the pleasure of passing information to young people that are trying to achieve is such a positive experience.