Peter Kirby-Harris

Approach to Tutoring
I utilise a bespoke student-centred approach in guiding students through their courses and then excelling in their exams. This personalised, student-centred approach to tutoring helps students where they most need it and in a way that is most effective by building on their strengths in order to address their weaknesses. This approach has been developed over 20 years of tutoring and is something that I am constantly improving. In order to undertake the student centred approach I conduct full assessments of each student’s interests, strengths and weaknesses and what parts of the curriculum they need to improve in the introductory session. This then allows for planning out topics for future sessions. By completing a thorough analysis of each student's ability I can optimise their strengths to transform weaknesses into assets.
Each tutorial focuses on delivering course material and I always ask for input from the student as to what they are interested in and would find relevant. I attempt wherever possible to ground the tutorial in a contemporary setting for politics bringing in examples from everyday life and current events and using the most recent developments in research. For History, including orthodox and revisionist interpretations as well as those with unique political or social focus, and for Politics I focus on tracking the trends present in contemporary debates and incorporating a variety of differing viewpoints to help students gain insights in the full complexities of the subject. For RS/Philosophy i ensure that lessons are based around key texts, principles and thinkers and how they can best be incorporated into effective arguments on matters of religion, ethics and philosophy I focus on ensuring the learning aims are achieved (as well as the examination's assessment objectives) and that all revision topics can be easily committed to memory. I do not have a designated writing technique that I try to teach pupils, instead I opt for an approach that assesses the student’s current aptitude and works on making the necessary improvements incrementally over time to peak at the critical moment - just in time for exams to begin, so as to deliver the best possible results.