Cambridge Maths Undergraduate tutors Maths & Further Maths for GCSE & A-Level online. I also provide support for UK Uni Admissions tests, such as TMUA, MAT & STEP, and University Interview Prep.

Find out more about Michael

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

  I was always interested in Maths as it was always dynamic and a fun challenge at school. As I got better at maths I loved how the subject equally grew in difficulty and pushed me to work harder to tackle the more difficult problems. On the other hand, I was actually initially reluctant to begin tutoring when my friend asked me to help out his younger brother: I had never done it before and I knew that just being good at maths was not the only criteria to being a good tutor. Fortunately, my first student enjoyed my sessions a lot and kept asking for more and the rest is history!

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

  Maths is a unique subject to teach compared to other academic topics as not only does it require one to be knowledgeable and remember all the key points but also to be able to fully understand and apply what they know to unseen problems. In particular, I love giving my students questions that keep pushing their problem solving as this builds intuition and unique analytical skills that you cannot find in any other subject. My favourites are STEP questions as they are all possible with baseline knowledge but have niche intricacies that make them fun and exciting for me to teach.

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

  The two teachers that most inspire my tutoring techniques are my old physics and maths teachers. My physics teacher, Dr Calverley had the best teaching resources imaginable and was the expert at teaching knowledge points whilst still making the lessons interesting by showing examples of how what we were learning could be applied to the real world. My maths teacher Mr Black had the best personality and loved challenging me with difficult questions and was amazing at guiding me along the way.

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

  I think the two most important characteristics of a good tutor are someone that is personable and good at communicating their subject. I believe that this is the most effective combination as it keeps the students interested whilst also maximising their learning potential as I have found that the more interested the student is, the harder they will work.

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

  My mechanics lecturer took lectures from Pauli during their undergraduate. Pauli apparently had a very rapid and hectic lecturing style making it difficult for students to follow along; he would just turn his back to the class and start talking and writing on the board. So one day a student interrupts and says "Excuse me professor but I'm having trouble following the step you did back there..." to which Pauli immediately replies, "Oh, it's obvious!" The student, not being satisfied with this explanation, began to elaborate on the specific issue he was having. Pauli listened thoughtfully as the student tried to explain his question. Afterwards, Pauli didn't answer right away; instead he paced back and forth and even went into the hallway to think. A little while later he came back in and said "Ok, I've thought about it, and it is obvious!" and then he went right back into his lecture where he left off.

• 6) What were the difficulties or challenges you faced or still facing in your subject?

  As I develop as a mathematician, I find that mathematics often requires understanding abstract concepts that are not immediately intuitive, making it difficult to grasp immediately. Often I find myself dwelling on new ideas for long periods of time to help me understand them.
  Another problem is visualisation of problems. Sometimes it can be challenging to visualise what is happening in a question which can restrict your ability to understand a question especially in topics like geometry and calculus. Sometimes this can be overcome by drawing diagrams but in higher dimensions this becomes much more difficult.

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

  I love teaching and the feeling I get when a student finally grasps a concept or has a new idea or is incomparable. The best bit is when students give me questions I haven't seen before as then we enter a unique learning environment where both the teacher and student are working together to solve a problem!

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

  I believe that I am a Superprof due to my combination of personal qualities, teaching skills, and maths knowledge that effectively aid and enhance a student's learning experience. I have extremely strong maths knowledge, and a deep understanding of key concepts. I also stay on top of the latest changes in syllabuses and new admissions test papers. I also have excellent communication skills which are crucial which allow me to explain complex concepts clearly. After tutoring many students, I have gained the experience to adapt my style to meet different learning needs and I listen carefully to address questions and issues that they may have.
  Particularly with maths, patience and empathy are essential as you never know how long it will take a student to grasp concepts. It's important to not make them feel rushed or anxious. I'm also a Superprof as I believe that I am excellent at engaging and motivating students by showing enthusiasm for the subject and providing positive reinforcement to build confidence.
  Most importantly for maths, I Encouraging critical thinking, the tutor uses open-ended questions to promote analytical skills and guides students toward finding answers independently.