You are welcome to contact me about tutoring:
by freephone on 0800 0807 087;
by mobile phone on 077 5757 4942 or;
by email via duncan@romseymathstutor.co.uk.

Romsey availability updated June 2010: (Charge outside the times listed below is £49 for 1 1/4 hours.)
Tuesday 17.00-18.15 available now (£29 for 75 minutes)

Maths and Science particularly benefit from tutoring:

Research has shown that these are subjects where tutoring can have a measureable impact on exam performance (ref: research at the Institute of Education). I agree with this and believe my tutoring approach makes optimal use of the 75 minute sessions. Normally I start with a "warm-up" drilling basic skills through repetition (focussing on the student's weaknesses) using exercises specially written for the session. These warm-ups can last the whole lesson initially as we focus on basic skills for initial exam-performance gains. Note, this is one of the reasons my tutoring is such good value: I write all of these warmups so that they are targetted to exactly the level of the student. Personalised questions means that confidence and skills grow faster: good confidence and basic skills mean that the student can then start working through longer questions...

These longer questions are either chosen by the student (which helps to make them feel empowered) or I choose for them if I feel something is particularly important. I do not (generally) act as "expert" during these sessions...

...instead I share good exam technique and skills while we work as a team. This means they are learning that improved Maths performance is a learnable skill instead of something magic: very important. Generally, if they can do something I'll either say "great, lets skip this and move onto the next thing" or "that's good, let's find some ways to do that quicker to buy us more time in the exam"...

If they can't do it I will try and prompt them to the correct answer by asking questions such as: "Can you read the question out loud to me?"; "Did you remember our plan to summarise the question before trying to answer?" or; "What is this question about?" (followed by) "So, what do you know about triangles that might help?"...

I am continually trying to teach them to help themselves... and I praise good technique much more than getting the correct answer. After 2 or 3 months I find their confidence grows and by then I've had time to really develop their weaker skills. In general, exam improvements will have already been achieved... at which point I will start pushing them into using more advanced skills, significantly beyond anything they will have done before. This is where the really big gains can start to kick in...

If a student has (say) at least a year doing a lesson most weeks it is possible to have a big impact on their performance. The only rider to this is that if the student has other issues impacting their performance (such as going out too much or too little sleep) this will always hold them back. Encouraging them to get adequate sleep and balance work and play better is equally important to getting good tutoring in this case.

Exam Preparation:

It's obviously possible to gain some benefit from emergency lessons close to exam time. I would use my judgement to find the best way to help the student in circumstances like these. I usually do two things:- 1. Work on their exam technique so that they are making maximum use of their existing skills and knowledge and; 2. Pick on a few "easy hits" where I see they are missing out on marks and where they can be gained fairly easily. Remember this is not as good as tutoring over a period of (say) a year or at least 4 or 5 months. A key difference is that if (for example) they are weak at fractions I won't mention it... simply ignoring this in the knowledge that fixing it would be too difficult in the time available... instead targetting easier gains elsewhere.

About me: I have experience of learning, researching, teaching and marking exam papers in Maths and Science. Twelve years ago I completed my PhD in Applied Physics. I then worked as a Senior Research Associate and Civil Servant doing research in Mathematics/Environmental Science. I then spent 5 or 6 years travelling (and doing some teaching along the way, mainly in Environmental Science including work for the Forestry Commission and Marwell Conservation Education Centre... places where I had to teach to a high standard and also run commercially viable, fun and enjoyable lessons). I am now settled in the New Forest area and working on a self-employed basis. I can accept payments by credit/debit card, Paypal, cheque or cash. I don't have a flash website, but I'm happy to spend time answering all your questions. I do not charge for travel if it fits in reasonably with my other bookings. I may make a small (at cost) charge for travel if necessary. Note, I also do Maths Tutoring in Poole if you know anyone that might be interested.