Observation - Teaching Chemistry Nomenclature
Watching Oliver tutor this chemistry student was interesting... even as someone who tutors maths rather than chemistry, it was easy to see why the lesson was working.
The topic itself involved naming different molecules and drawing them with the correct bonds and groupings, but Oliver never treated it like something the student was supposed to memorise immediately. Instead, he broke the process into small steps and kept returning to the same simple questions. He would ask the student what they noticed first, what part looked different, or where they thought the “main” section of the molecule was. The student often hesitated at first, but because the questions were short and direct, they usually managed to work it out themselves.
One thing that stood out was how tangible the lesson felt. Oliver used a small whiteboard for nearly everything, sketching quick diagrams and then rubbing parts out as the student corrected mistakes. It made the session feel active rather than lecture-based. The student was constantly drawing, pointing, changing answers and testing ideas. In a subject that could easily become overwhelming on paper, the whiteboard kept things informal and low-pressure.
Oliver was also very patient with mistakes. When the student got something wrong, he rarely interrupted with the answer straight away. Instead, he would usually ask another question or redraw part of the structure so the student could spot the issue themselves. That seemed much more effective than simply correcting them. The student became more confident as the session went on, especially once they realised mistakes were part of the process rather than something embarrassing.
Another strength was his pacing. He never rushed through examples just to cover more content. If the student looked unsure, he slowed down immediately and re-explained the idea in simpler language. From the outside, it felt less like a teacher delivering information and more like someone guiding another person through a puzzle step by step.
Overall, the session worked because Oliver focused on building understanding rather than just getting answers correct.
