Information about Reza - Canberra tutor -

(3 reviews)

Personal Description:

Hi there! :) My name is Reza, and I am passionate about helping students discover the joy of learning, which I believe is an invaluable life skill. I have very fond memories of my own wonderful teachers who inspired me with their enthusiasm, knowledge, and gift of distilling complex ideas into easily understood explanations, and I strive to follow in their footsteps during my tutoring sessions.

I have always loved mathematics from a young age, and have undertaken and excelled in university-level maths subjects (high distinction average and top individual subject score of 97) throughout my double degree in communication engineering and computer science. Aside from a career in the IT industry, I have also pursued studies in filmmaking and have worked as a camera assistant in the film & TV industry. I have a keen interest in photography, physics, astronomy, and music.

I have a very warm and empathetic personality, am courteous and considerate, and can easily relate to and communicate with people of all ages and backgrounds. I am very organised and reliable, and have a current Working With Children card.

Having transitioned to online lessons delivered via Zoom throughout the pandemic, I have decided to continue with this format. I use a virtual whiteboard with a Wacom tablet to make notes, which the student can see in real time, and a PDF copy of the notes will be available after the session.

****** Important Information ******

Please take note of this important point listed on the "Students and Parents" information page, which seems to go unnoticed by some.

"Step 4: Once / if you decide to go ahead with a tutor, and they have accepted your request, you can pay the intro fee ($9.99) to receive the tutor's details."

This is a one-time fee and has nothing at all to do with me or my lesson fees. It is the fee charged by this website before they release my contact information to you. Without paying this fee, any attempts by either of us to exchange information (such as phone number, email address, or meeting location) through the private messaging system will be automatically blocked by this site.

Tuition Experience:

I have extensive experience tutoring students of a wide range of ages, from late primary school to senior high school, including all the various branches of VCE maths subjects:

* Foundation Mathematics
* General Mathematics
* Further Mathematics
* Mathematical Methods
* Specialist Mathematics

I also have some experience with 1st and 2nd year university-level tutoring in the topics of introductory analysis, ordinary differential equations, and vector calculus.

Tutoring Approach:

My underlying philosophy is that learning can and should be fun!

I believe the most important role of any educator is to inspire their students to find pleasure in the process of learning, and to motivate them to always push beyond surface-level knowledge and strive for a more comprehensive understanding. To that end, I am strongly opposed to ro**Contact Detail Removed**arning and believe it is ultimately quite ineffective, particularly for mathematics and other sciences; to paraphrase the great physicist Richard Feynman, knowledge gained via rote is so fragile!

I have experienced firsthand the night-and-day difference between simply memorizing information in preparation for an exam, as opposed to meaningful learning and understanding of concepts at their core. The latter not only results in knowledge that is more robust, but also creates a sense of pride and satisfaction in the student that will further stimulate their curiosity and desire to learn. A positive and self-sustaining cycle will ensue: the student will relish being presented with new material and seek to place it within the context of prior knowledge; and, when faced with difficult challenges, they will feel motivated to persist with it rather than give up.

I think it is tremendously sad that many students are put off mathematics because they assume they are simply not good at it. In my experience, this is often caused by a simple deficiency in some basic fundamentals (due to an over-reliance on ro**Contact Detail Removed**arning in the junior years) which makes more advanced topics appear prohibitively difficult. I will work hard to identify and rectify these deficiencies to not only help students feel more confident with their current studies, but also equip them to be better learners in the future.

I am of course well aware that most students typically seek tuition having specific short term goals of improving grades or excelling on exams. However, I believe these results will occur naturally as by-products of an effective teaching method that focuses on:

* Clear explanation of fundamental concepts
* Making the student an active part of the learning process
* Encouraging the student to make links between new and previous knowledge
* Instilling a love of learning and curiosity

I would be honoured should you choose me to assist in improving your skills and confidence in maths.