Mathematics and Data Science Masters graduate. Teaching Maths up to leaving certificate level. Can do 1st-year undergrad maths on request. Experience teaching 2nd-year University undergrads

Find out more about Darragh

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

  I was always good at math and interested in finance so I was keen to pursue it and after many years of doing so I believe it's time to help others to further their mathematical skills as they can help in any field. I was originally approached by the University to get into tutoring finance lessons and instantly loved it and wanted to help more people in a more 1:1 setting as well as a class/group setting.

• 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).

  I teach mathematics and statistics mainly as well as finance and a small bit of coding. I particularly enjoy teaching the statistics, probability and financial maths but I enjoy all areas of my field.

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

  I had a great University professor that I met in my first year at University who helped me for the full 4 years of my degree and allowed me not only to build my knowledge in mathematics but he also showed me how to effectively teach an individual and class.

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

  I think the qualities are to being a good tutor and teacher are similar but while one generally deals with a class the other deals with an individual. It's important to have a deep understanding of how the individual thinks and looks at problems so that you can understand their point of view and help them adjust to see it from a potentially different angle. Patience and empathy are two key qualities as well as often we can get frustrated when something doesn't seem to make sense simply because it hasn't yet clicked.

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

  Students are known for complaining about math asking the question "when will we ever use Pythagoras" or similar. I once asked my university professor the same as we were doing a class that seemed not to relate to anything else we were doing and he responded telling me that most of what we would learn in the degree would not be used in the workplace but we weren't just learning maths. What we were really learning was problem solving. The point is that even if you want to do something completely separate to maths, it's still valuable because it will teach you different ways to look at a problem and allow you to solve it in ways that others might not have thought of before.

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

  I think for most people mathematics is hard. Even though I was good at it from an early age I was no different from others who found it difficult. The key is to stick at it and try look at the problem from as many perspectives as you can until it eventually clicks. The more you practice the different methods the easier this will become.

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

  My main passion has always been finance. I studied maths to improve my numerical understanding and build on my skills with finance. Through this I discovered a love for teaching too but at the end of the day you will likely find me trying to solve some financial problem that is present in the economy or elsewhere.

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

  In my opinion what makes me a superprof is my balance between a strong mathematical ability and a strong teaching ability. As someone who is not a trained teacher I am always looking for feedback on how to improve my teaching and with the maths I am able to explain concepts or reasons for doing what we are doing to students that they might not be told by secondary school teachers. Based on my feedback which I have gotten (which you can see in my reviews section) I believe I have achieved what it means to be a superprof.