Lifescience consultant + Cambridge & Imperial College + 10+ years experience teaching Maths (Funnest way guaranteed! Exam technique, IGCSE.GCSE)

Find out more about Kat

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

  I grew up as a curious child, knowledge intrigues me and motivates me. To quote Einstein, "It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little off this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity." I have always been a person who used to pester my teachers and professors at school & university by asking them questions. I have always been grateful for their help and would like to do the same for younger generations.
  
  I want to be that person who motivates and inspires young talent to grow. In my 10+ years of tutoring, I have developed many innovative methodologies and perspectives on the sciences and maths which I am able to pass onto students every day. 


• 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).

  I teach sciences and maths at all levels. (11+, 13+, GCSE/iGCSE, IB/AL) I love to incorporate memory techniques into my lessons to make them as fun as possible.
  
  For Maths: I have countless innovative stories to help students understand complex concepts and memorise difficult equations.
  
  For Science: I like to teach students above their curricular requirements and tell them about the real world, such as medicine development, extremely cool gene therapies, and a bit about my career as a life sciences consultant.

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

  Nicholas inspires me a lot, he is a motivational speaker born with tetra-amelia syndrome, a rare disorder characterised by the absence of arms and legs.
  
  He focused his energy on believing in his own worth and self-love. He willed himself to move away from experiencing shame to allowing vulnerability, yet cultivating resilience to others' words. This vulnerability is what Brene Brown defines as "being honest with how we feel, about our fears, about what we need and then asking for what we need." Instead of being driven by fear and weakness, vulnerability means being driven by courage to be one's authentic self. I think this is extremely important, I always encourage my students to know your weakness and your strength and not to be afraid of them, face them, then re-position yourself and drive yourself forward.

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

  A good tutor is a role model and a good friend. Expertise is a given... what distinguishes a good tutor from a bad one, in my opinion, is adaptability, passion and creativity.
  
  Adaptability - there is no one size fits all, a good tutor would always observe and listen to what the student needs and be able to find the best teaching method and learning tactics for their students.
  
  Passion - a good tutor is always passionate about what they do and being able to influence others to share the same passion (one of my biggest successes is not helping people get an A* or a 9 in their GCSE or AL but getting someone who hated maths to feel confident in maths and chose maths as one of their A level subjects.)
  
  Creativity - I think this is one of the most important points in tutoring that many tutors neglect! Creativity leads to innovation, as I mentioned earlier, there is no one size fits all in tutoring, so as a good tutor we always need to innovate, find new ideas and better ways to deliver better lessons.

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

  I must say that we chemists love our chemistry to the extreme. I remember walking into the kitchen and seeing that every single kitchen utensil and food ingredient had chemical labels on it... our common language was chemistry, it would be no surprise to hear something like... "I'll add some H2O and then some NaCl to season the chicken" in our kitchen. In retrospect, that might sound a little strange to a lot of people, but we like to reminisce about those memories.

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

  Science has contributed immensely to human progress and to the development of modern society. The application of scientific knowledge continues to furnish powerful means for solving many of the challenges facing humanity. Recent advances in information technology, genetics, and biotechnology hold extraordinary prospects for individual well-being and that of humankind as a whole. However, health inequalities still exist, fair access to medicines and right to health are still challenging topics that left unsolved.

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

  Teaching is definitely my passion, I love seeing my students grow both academically and personally. It always excites me when a student from a few years ago contacts me and tells me about his/her life at university and what he/she is doing
  
  I also have a passion for the arts. Although I would not say I am an art expert, my artistic skills and creativity have helped many students learn and remember complex concepts in a simple and sustainable way.

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

  I am one of the few tutors in the industry who
  
  1. Is a life science consultant - I live and breathe science
  
  2. Has experienced both the Asian and UK learning systems - I can teach you what I call the KAT way - leveraging the best from both the Asian and UK learning systems
  
  3. Has developed a simple and effective way to push you beyond your ability. I can be your "tiger teacher" to help you achieve your best. e.g. I taught multiple Year 7/8 students the entire GCSE maths syllabus in just half a year (which of course made them top of the class), and trained a group of year 7 students to win the 2021-2022 US You be the Chemist Challenge international division.