Coaching and tuition

Tutoring and coaching for older children, teenagers, and adults: Science, psychology, and fulfilling our potential

I offer a limited amount of tutoring in sciences (maths, physics, chemistry, computing, IT [Mac and iOS], psychology, and chess for relative beginners), English language, grammar, and writing, and coaching, for mental health and business and leadership, in person and online.

I am Emeritus Professor of Psychology at the University of Dundee. I have won prizes for teaching, and have published several books and numerous academic articles. I have been in the local and national press, on radio, and on television. I have written about the theory of education.

My qualifications are a degree in Natural Sciences (Physical) at the University of Cambridge, and a PhD (also Cambridge). I have a Certificate in Coaching from the University of Dundee. I have been elected as a Fellow of the British Psychological Society.

Much of my research has been on how we can best maximise - and extend - our potential. I have also researched and published on mental health, dyslexia, dyscalculia, and the planning of behaviour. I have suffered all my life from some of these issues (particularly depression, anxiety, autistic spectrum disorder, and ADHD), so can advise about them also from a position of first-hand experience. For some years I was on the committee of the British Psychological Society that accredited psychology degrees, as well as on its Research Board. I am qualified to administer psychological tests.

My philosophy of teaching and coaching is based on science, is to emphasise the importance of what is being learned or thought about, and to provide insight into how children and adults should deal with problems of all sorts. I believe in helping people how to think, reason, write, and perform in exams in general, rather than simply in how to pass any one particular exam, although of course some subject-specific knowledge is also essential. Note also that I would never do anything to compromise the integrity of any assessment.

Achieving our full potential depends on many factors, including our talent for that task, how much we practise, how we practise, how hard we work, our attitudes, and our understanding of how we learn. Mastering any discipline depends on maximising as many of these factors as possible, and it is often difficult to achieve this goal alone. In particular, I encourage students of all sorts and ages to reflect on how they are thinking, learning, and making decisions.

If interested, please email me at [email protected], or P.M. me on Messenger, to discuss availability and prices. I prefer Zoom or FaceTime, but am happy with some face-to-face, and it is always good to meet in person for the first time.

Please note that I will decline an assignment if I do not think I can help. I obviously don’t know everything, or like everyone else, I might not get everything right first time. In my opinion, no one can guarantee immediate success in every case.