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Find out more about Mirthdzoy

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

  I have developed an interest in my chosen field since as long as I can remember. I remembered when other kids were getting toys and games for their presents, but I didn't really have a huge interest in that, rather, I asked my parents for earth globes, animal planet books, and so much more. I remembered getting into a deep zone reading books and watching science shows all day, and that slowly turned me into the science geek that I am today.
  
  I started to have an interest in private tutoring as a result of when I took my foundation in Kolej Matrikulasi Labuan. I was appointed as a speaker to give study tips for the biology subject for my class. Other than that, I was appointed as a tutor for a chemistry mentor-mentee programme and surprisingly, I got the best tutor award! That made my teaching side spark a little and from then on I started to include teaching in my life journey.
  
  To add on, I remembered having passion and hard work in studying, but I always got a 'meh' result, turns out that I was using the wrong studying method. Once I worked on that by trying several different study methods, I discovered a straightforward, effective study method that I still apply to this day, and my results show the effectiveness of this. I would like students to be exposed to this method to help them as well.

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

  I teach all the science and math subjects. And I really enjoy teaching the 'hard' parts of the syllabus. For example, differentiation and integration in additional mathematics; biology topics that cover anatomy, the lymphatic system and so on; for physics, gravitation and its laws; and for chemistry, the acid, bases and salts topic. Those topics challenge my teaching skills and I really enjoy teaching these topics, even if it's over and over again.

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

  For me, it was a lecturer who taught me during my foundation. We called her Miss Ummi, and she is very hardworking, very kind and pushes students to be their best with her unique method of teaching. I really looked up to her as I could see she genuinely cared for her students and tried to help as best she could for her students. I wish I could be like her but on my level, I am still so far from reaching her level!
  
  I remembered her taking her time to look in detail at my revision notes one by one and checking each of them to see if it was accurate or not, and that really helped me. In the end, my Chemistry results for Sem 1, Sem 2 and even during my degree, I was able to get an A.

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

  I think patience, discipline and creativity are the qualities required to be a good tutor.
  
  For patience, I encountered many types of students, those who catch info really fast and those who need to work at a specific pace to reach the same objective. I am careful not to explain hastily for students who need more time as it might confuse them, and I also take care not to bore students who learn fast.
  
  For discipline, I always try my best to balance my tutoring times with uni, my part-time work, commitments to many clubs in uni and handling programmes. It can be hard sometimes, but I always try to fit at least one lesson per week for every student, in my case I had to balance 13 students taking 2 hours of class per week = 26 hours of tutoring with my 18 credit hours for uni. It is hard but doable, but if it is taking a toll on my studies, I try to negotiate with my students and so far, most of them understood me.
  
  For creativity, I try to come up with specific and unique teaching methods for students and try to make them understand the topic better. So far I get to teach the topic 'functions' in additional mathematics with a specific method and that helped me a lot.

• Do you have a valuable anecdote related to your subject or your days at school?

  I remembered during senior year in high school, I was walking home and as I was walking, I started thinking about physics formulas and applying them in real life, and the joy I felt during that period was indescribable!
  
  I also remembered applying algebra concepts in math to calculate my velocity and acceleration using a timer, and a distance tracker on my phone hahaha. It was random and I suppose I can say I felt smart after doing that - now thinking back, it was rather a funny moment to me.

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

  I would say discipline and the workload, now I am currently taking a Bachelor of Genetic Science at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. During my second semester, I really fell off and didn't really have the motivation to even get out of my bed to places.
  
  That was not a good time period for me as I lost my purpose and didn't really know what my purpose was - it felt as though I was just waking up and doing the same thing over and over again without a checkpoint. That resulted in me not getting a great grade for my Sem 2. It was still considered good by my friends and all, but for me, that's the worst grade I ever received compared to SPM, foundation, and my first semester of uni.
  
  Luckily, I picked myself back up and worked hard for the third semester, and I have found my purpose in doing all of this, which is to repay my parents, and that mindset helped me a lot for my studies. I had to sacrifice my screentime and my social media to focus on my studies. Now, to be honest, I would much prefer not having social media with me!

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

  My real passion is to work in a healthcare system. I have plans to be a doctor specifically in the genetics field, and I found the route to get there. I really love genetics and I have planned my route to working in the field since my foundation years.

• What makes you a Superprof?

  I would say my commitment to Superprof makes me a Superprof! They have done a really great job in finding students for me and I repay their efforts by trying to be the best tutor I can possibly be. I spent countless hours and several years with Superprof now and it helped me a lot for my mentality, my mindset and how I evolved as a person. I look forward to spending more years with Superprof and being the best tutor I can possibly be.