Maths PhD at ICL and Data Scientist with 10y exp teaching Physics and Maths to GCSE, A-levels and University!

Find out more about Marco

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

  I developed my interest in Physics during the last year of high school, thanks to my Maths & Physics teacher. She was tough, always pushing us to do better. I would have probably done something different in my life if it hadn’t been for her caring support and encouragement. As for tutoring, I started a bit by accident shortly after I started my Master’s. My parents are both teachers, so I guess it was partly inevitable!
  
  Right after I gave my first few classes, I immediately realized how much I loved sharing my knowledge with other people and bringing them closer to the wonders of science. It’s an incredibly rewarding feeling.

• 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).

  Over the years I’ve taught a bit of everything: math, further math, mechanics and electromagnetism, quantum mechanics, calculus, thermodynamics, and more. The part I enjoy the most is to delve into the beauty of theories in physics and theoretical reasoning. What do I like less? Well, I confess that subjects that are more experimentally–oriented are not really my favorite, though I am always happy to learn more and improve in such fields.

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

  As said, surely my physics teacher has been a role model for me. She basically made me promise to take up Physics in front of all the other teachers during the final exam – that’s how much she believed in me!
  
  However, the truth is, I have had a number of great teachers and professors throughout my student life, like my philosophy teacher, my Italian literature teacher, my Quantum Mechanics professor at university, and others. Every one of them has taught something different. The passion for the subject, the curiosity to learn, punctuality, discipline, and the creativity to find connections between seemingly distant topics are some of the things I hope I learned from them.

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

  Every student seeks help in a given subject for a different reason, and as a tutor it is crucial to understand who is in front of you and why, so as to find a way to captivate their interest and cater to their specific needs better. Apart from solid knowledge, I think that to become a great tutor, empathy plays a fundamental role as well as the passion one puts into conveying the hard but fascinating concepts behind maths and physics.

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

  It was during my high–school viva: I was discussing my final project in front of the examiners. The last teacher to question me was my maths & physics teacher, who asked me about Maxwell’s equations. Towards the end, the head examiner asked me what my future projects were, so I replied with uncertainty that I had been thinking about studying Physics at University, but I was not entirely sure yet because it seemed very challenging at that point. . My teacher interrupted me and said: “No Marco, you ARE going to study Physics, we talked about this”, which we only kind of did. It was a really powerful moment for me: I loved math and physics, and seeing her so convinced helped a lot with my decision to pursue tutoring and academia in those subjects.

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

  The greatest challenge I have faced – which I think is shared by most people – is to get used to mathematical and scientific reasoning, which is somewhat far from the way human beings approach everyday life, and exceeding this barrier requires lots and lots of study and practice. A difficulty I have been having since I started university is that there is so much to learn, and so little time…

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

  Teaching is surely one of the things I love the most, but I have many passions beyond it. I like studying and learning new things : from baking to farming, from languages to programming and more!

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

  My family counts an unusually large number of teachers, so I have been raised in the perfect environment to become a tutor myself! I think what I have learned over the many years I have been giving private tuition is that I have to walk the fine line between helping the students with all their requests and needs, and at the same time empowering them to be independent and self–sufficient. I realized first–hand what difference can make having a great teacher that believes in you – I strive to be that person with all my students.