Lessons consist of a combination of short mini-lectures, in-class discussions, interactive exercises, exam practices, and a variety of activities that are designed to help students develop the following skills: critical reading and understanding, critical writing and expression, argumentation and evaluation, and finally, interdisciplinary thinking.
As Cambridge’s focus has shifted away from rote learning, students who focus on mindless practices and drills tend to perform poorly for the A Level exams (often in spite of good scores in school).
To tackle this, we place heavy emphasis on the aforementionaed skills and achieve the development of these skills through a combination of five things.
First of all, we provide high quality notes and explanations every class. Students will learn about essential concepts and be exposed to a wide variety of examples in class. They will also receive sample paragraphs and essays, structured outlines, and tips on answering techniques. During the Case Studies MasterClass, students will explore exciting current affairs events in an in-depth and interdisciplinary manner. All classes are personally taught by Mr Liau, a former journalist with op-eds published locally and internationally on newspapers like The Guardian. (We do not “bait and switch”.)
Second, we provide ample opportunities for student engagement and interaction. The studies have shown that students learn best when they are deeply invested in what they are learning. Students are also much more likely to develop an interest in the subject if they are active participants in their own learning rather than mere absorbers of information. To facilitate student engagement and interaction, we make an effort that give each student an opportunity to participate in the discussion, whether verbally or in written form.
Third, we provide students with ample opportunities to practise a variety of skills. This includes all of the exam components: essay writing, comprehension, summary and AQ. Students will learn the relevant exam/answering techniques and will have opportunities to practise them.
Fourth, Mr Liau personally marks all work submitted by students as part of our classes. All feedback on essays, AQ responses and comprehension answers is provided by Mr Liau himself, the author of the 2021 A-Level answer key. Again, we do not “bait-and-switch”. We do not outsource the marking.
Finally, Mr Liau personally keeps in touch with students. They can clarify doubts and bring any questions they may have directly to him. Mr Liau has been teaching for 11 years.
In essence, our lessons focus heavily on understanding rather than memorisation of facts. Over the years, we have observed that Cambridge is placing increasing emphasis on two things: interdisciplinary thinking and logical analysis. To help students meet these new demands, we have made these aspects of learning an integral part of our lessons. Students can expect to develop fresh insights, be exposed to a vast array of views and be challenged to think analytically. For more information about how students feel about our lessons, please refer to our testimonials here:  https://gptuition.com/testimonials/