Susannah B.

I recently completed a doctorate in History at the University of Oxford, having completed my masters' there and my undergraduate degree at University College (UCL). For both my masters' and my doctorate, I received scholarship from the University of Oxford in order to undertake my research.

As a PhD student, I acquired three years of teaching experience. I taught both small groups of between one and three students and larger groups of up to eight students, both from the University of Oxford and on US exchange programmes to the city. I have also led workshops for GCSE and A Level students. I have a formal qualification in teaching from the Higher Education Academy.

In the past, students have praised my teaching style, commenting on how I came across as warm and approachable and stating that our lessons were always well planned and interesting. They often note particularly that our classes not only improve their understanding of the specific topic covered in the session, but also their essay-writing and study skills more generally.

My approach to teaching is an adaptive one. Before our first meeting, I discuss with my students what their expectations are regarding our classes and what they are hoping to achieve from them. I then cater our sessions to their requests, while also observing how they work and think and adapting my approach accordingly. A key area of focus for me, which I believe is too often neglected by educators, is feedback. Rather than just marking sections of work or responding to spoken answers by stating they are 'good' or 'bad', I clarify to my students what is it they are doing effectively, and how they can improve in the areas that they are finding more difficult. This means that my students have clear and actionable feedback, which they can use to improve both in class and independently beyond it.