Cornwall-based PhD student physicist/engineer offering lessons in Physics and Maths from Primary to A-Level

Find out more about Matt

• When did you develop an interest in your chosen field and in private tutoring?

  I've always been interested in Physics and Maths. I performed very well at a young age and, as a bit of a goody-two-shoes, even started asking for extra homework during primary school. From a very young age, I was determined to be a scientist of some sort, and developing a particular interest in space quickly dragged me into Physics specifically, though I do remain interested in Biology, Chemistry, and other topics.
  
  
  In terms of tutoring, I've long had experience teaching and helping people with learning. To some extent it comes natural as an oldest sibling. I also grew up, however, helping friends, volunteering with assisting Music Theory lessons at my local Brass Band, and then more recently working as a summer camp counsellor in Michigan in 2019. Looking for a part-time job, and one I could do flexibly alongside my degree and PhD, online tutoring was an obvious direction to go.

• Tell us more about the subject you teach, the topics you like to discuss with students (and possibly those you like a little less).

  As mentioned above, I tutor in Maths and Physics! I don't really favour any specific part of Maths, though I do like complex geometry and circle theorem questions. Despite this I do sometimes have to remind myself of rules like the alternate segment theorem or trigonometric values to memorise (sin(60), tan(30) etc.).
  
  
  I like a lot of physics, but I particularly like talking about the two things I've done research on: quantum mechanics and astrophysics. The latter in particular can keep me talking for days without end. The variety of synoptic physics problems are also fun to work through.

• Did you have any role models; a teacher that inspired you?

  Back during secondary school, at Fowey Community College, I had a maths teacher named Miss Munro. Not only did she do a good job at handling a rowdy class of teenage boys (our Maths sets were split by gender for some reason), but she also was great at teaching us. She tended to delegate, getting the groups of students who understood a problem to help those who didn't. As someone who easily immersed myself in GCSE Maths and Further Maths, I was particularly often called upon to help. My friends and classmates were, in a way, some of my first Maths students.

• What do you think are the qualities required to be a good tutor?

  Flexibility is particularly important. Every student will handle each topic differently, so it's important to be able to accommodate that. Communication in general is also important, and you have to be ready to adapt your explanation of a problem to your audience.

• Provide a valuable anecdote related to your subject or your days at school.

  It's not specific to my 'subject', but I did have a very rough time during my A-levels. My mental health plummeted and so, for a while, did my grades. I went from top of the class during GCSE, to taking a third year at college for resits. As someone whose identity kind-of grew around my good performance at school, this turned into an awful feedback loop.
  
  
  Fortunately, I still ultimately did well enough to get into a university I liked, and was able to bounce back to form during my integrated master degree, finishing with a 1st, and am now about to complete my PhD. I also got help for my mental wellbeing, and am able to manage my anxiety and depression a lot better now. As a result, I emphasise completely with anyone having a rough time at school, or really struggling with their work, and will do whatever I can to help.

• What were the difficulties or challenges you faced or still face in your subject?

  There are some skills I'm still working on, often stuff during my 'lost years' discussed in the last question. For example, I never was extremely confident with topics like Fourier transformations. However, I have significantly improved since then, in-part because Fourier transformations play a big role in the simulation and analysis work I do in my PhD.

• Do you have a particular passion? Is it teaching in general or an element of the subject or something completely different?

  Is it a cop-out to say space and quantum again? Because that's probably it.
  
  
  I have other things I enjoy though, outside of teaching and academia. As mentioned, I come from a family of musicians, playing the trumpet/cornet in my case up to a county level.
  
  
  I also love writing, to the point I have a few published sci-fi short stories. I recently even had my first 'professional' story published in a Doctor Who spin-off anthology called 'Ice Hot', published by Obverse Books!

• What makes you a Superprof (besides answering these interview questions :-P) ?

  I think I do a good job with the qualities I mentioned previously. I'm very flexible with my students, ready to change approaches or topics in a moment, and I have experience in explaining things to students of a wide range of ages and expertise levels, ranging from primary school students to mature university students.
  
  
  I also put a lot of consideration into how much 'control' I take in a problem, and always like to try and maximise my students' interactivity, even if it means breaking down a complex problem into much smaller steps they understand and can handle. That being said, I do realise this approach doesn't work for everyone, and can provide full examples if needed, but for the most part I do like to approach my students on as level a playing field as possible.