Abubakar

Certified Tutor

My chemistry teacher was a significant influence on my decision to go into teaching. He was a well-learned educator whom himself had a doctorate in biochemistry. I have many hard and soft skills that made education a right fit for me: I am extremely patient; warm yet strict; can explain concepts very well; and am not intimidated by public speaking or young people. In addition, I enjoy the topics I teach and strive to better my techniques.

My first degree is in Genetics, and I obtained it from a university in my hometown: Queen Mary, University of London. Genetics is a multifaceted discipline and brings in skills from many other sciences: for example, game theory for evolutionary genetics, statistics for population genetics, atomic physics for DNA damage from radiation, etc. My next degree was then a doctorate in Biochemistry. My thesis was studying how the proteins that DNA surround called histones respond to ionising radiation-induced DNA double-strand breaks. I used a technique like what the Mars Rovers have attached to them: mass spectrometry. I do not discriminate against any science including physics and now I am working towards the final two modules (out of six) for a Physics Subject Knowledge enhancement.

At the school where I teach I am the only non-physics specialist teaching physics at the GCSE level. I hope to complete further training so I could teach physics A-Level in the future.
I currently tutor all sciences up to key stage 4. I am also confident in tutoring chemistry and biology A-Level. I do not have a favourite subject, but I do have favourite topics. For example, in biology, my favourite topic would be genetics and evolution. In chemistry, I enjoy quantitative and procedural topics such as the structure of the atom, ions, balancing equations, and organic chemistry and in physics, I do love a formula-based question but if I had to pick one it would either be a multi-step energy calculation or electricity question.
I would describe my style of teaching/tutoring as direct instruction i.e., do not play a guessing game with the student but be explicit with the content that they need to know. This is antithetical to discovery learning but regardless of philosophy in the classroom discovery learning does not function well in a tutoring session.

Outside of teaching, I enjoy reading to build up my general knowledge/trivia and use of language. My off time is spent at the cinema to watch a highly dynamic range of films: from independent, a foreign language to big blockbusters. To stay disciplined and slow down ageing I partake in weight lifting. I love local history and will go to arcane museums to further my understanding. Whenever I go travelling I must visit a national museum. If I make the time I also enjoy learning languages. Currently trying to develop my Spanish. My favourite sport to spectate is football but I will watch any major events that have a narrative going into it. "sport is a drama in which the audience and athletes do not know the script"