Private Tuition in Glasgow

I also offer private tuition for Maths & Physics.  I work as a secondary school teacher and am fully qualified with current GTC registration.  I focus on building confidence and tailor sessions to meet your own requirements.

Please visit my tuition website here: maths physics tutor glasgow for more information about  what I offer and for my contact details.   I can help you resolve specific areas of difficulty with Maths or Physics and can help you prepare for tests, prelims and exams.  Just give me a ring for a chat about what you’re looking for.

Mind Maps

I love them!

Here’s why.  When you go into an exam your brain has to recall information from somewhere in the jumble of knowledge.  Imagine going to a filing cabinet to get something out and you haven’t been in there for a while.  You will find it, but it’ll take you longer.

If you complete a mind map (without looking at your notes/book) then your brain is forced to search for the knowledge.  This means in the exam your brain has searched for this already and knows where to find it.

Mind maps also help your brain to organise the information.  For example, a proper mind map would involve different bits for different topics or ideas.  This allows your brain to link ideas together by topic, so again, when you need to find it easily you can. 

Most people find they help because many people learn well visually and nearly everyone is more visual than auditory, but I’m not into putting you in a box and saying you learn best in a certain way, so try different ideas.  Try recording stuff onto your ipod, for example, and listen on the way to school.

A good mind map:

• big, easy to read, stick a few bits of paper together if you need to.
• colourful, different colours for different ideas
• include diagrams & silly pictures to represent things

Mindmapping online:

mindmeister lets you create and share mind maps online. In brainstorming mode you and your friends can work simultaneously on the same mind map.  Get together with classmates to make a mind map for your exam revision.

Mindomo doesn’t let several of you work on the mind map at the same time, but the graphics and colour schemes are good.  You can still save your mindmap.

Do what works for you, if mind maps don’t work then that’s fine, do something else!

Prelims

Most schools have prelims some time between November and January.  Sometimes you’ll have one later than that, but it seems ages away from the final exam, so why bother with prelims?

• You might want to appeal, and if you do, you will get nowhere without a very good prelim result.  The SQA need strong evidence, which means your result has to be as good as it possibly can be.
• It gives you an idea of how much work you need to do for you final exam.  If you revise properly you get a realistic idea of what needs done to improve before your final exam.  If you haven’t prepared properly then all you can say is “I need to do more” which isn’t as helpful.

To prepare for your prelim you might want to try doing some of the following:

• Make yourself a timetable for each unit so you focus on one unit at a time and know you’ll get them all done before your exam.
• Go through the content statements / learning outcomes as a check list, mark them so you know what ones you’re happy with and what ones you need help with.  See my learning outcome post for more.

Key facts / Knowledge and understanding:

• Try rewriting some of them, summarising your notes.
• Close your notes and try drawing a mind map.  I like this one, see my mind maps post to see why.
• Make a simple self test like the one here.
• Get pals and family to test you.

Problem solving:

• This is the key.  Practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, got it?
• Seriously, reading your notes won’t get you very far, you need to practice problems.  Do it a topic at a time. 
• Use problem sheets / books.  If you don’t have any email me and I’ll send you some problems for your course. (Scottish ones only..)
• It’s best if you have answers, ask your teacher if they haven’t given you them.  (I always like to give them but not every teacher does: they don’t want you cheating on your homework.)  By prelim time in S4 they probably won’t mind giving you answers though so ask.
• Try the questions, do all the working, check your answer only after you’ve done it and see if you can work out where you’ve gone wrong if you have.
• Work with friends if you can.  Helping them will help your knowledge and vice versa.

Standard physics calculations

These questions are known as the “standard 2 marker” by teachers.  They involve a simple calculation and have a possible of 2 marks.  Eg:

A motorcylist travels a distance of 0.8km in a time of 1 minute.  What was her average speed?

Easy?  Yes, but there are steps to take to save you making mistakes:

1. Always write down all the information from the question, including what you are asked to calculate.
2. Convert any units that are not in standard form.
3. Write down the formula you will use.
4. Plug your numbers in.
5. Include a unit with your answer.
6. Check the answer is sensible!

You want to miss out step 1, right? 

Fine, but in the stress of the final exam you’ll be likely to forget step 2 and put a wrong value (like 0.8 instead of 800) in for your calculation.  The best students do this all the time in final exams.  Writing the info down reminds you to check and convert before you start your calculation. 

So what do I get the marks for and why does it matter as long as I’ve got the right answer?

Well if you make a daft mistake, even hit the wrong button on your calculator (let’s face it it’s going to happen at some point in the exam or test/NAB) then you will get marks for other working:

• 1/2 mark formula
• 1/2 mark plugging in correct values
• 1/2 right answer
• 1/2 unit in right answer

Note:

• A triangle formula gets zero marks, so write it properly (eg: V=IR) if you use triangles.
• Several formulas written down without the right working gets nothing.  Just one correct formula gets the 1/2.  So if you’re going to guess a formula, guess just one formula! 

Note that you do get full marks for just writing the correct answer with unit.  Some teachers tell you otherwise to get you to put the working down.  They’re lying, but they do it to make you put down working so that you get some marks even if you make a mistake.

Areas I Cover

I usually travel to students homes for tuition.  I stay in the West of Glasgow and cover the following areas:

Partick, Hillhead, Hyndland, Dowanhill, Jordanhill, Whiteinch, Scotstoun, Kelvindale, Anniesland, Knightswood, Blairdardie, Bearsden, Maryhill, Milgavie, Clydebank.

Depending on how busy I am, I can travel to other areas, just give me a ring & I’ll let you know.