Josephine E
ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS
Masters in Research (MRes) in Systems and Synthetic Biology, Imperial College London
Distinction (expected)
BSc Biomedical Science, King’s College London
Upper Second class honours
Awards: King’s College London Student Union Awards; Half Colour in the academic year 2017/2018, King’s Leadership & Professional Skills Award 2017-2018, Recipient of King’s College London Opportunity Fund, Silver medal winner at International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition (2018 and 2019).
American High School Diploma, Quality International School
GPA 3.8/4.0
Awards: Academic Honours in Calculus and Psychology, Member of a National Honour Society
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Love Learning Tutors
Common Entrance: SAT, IELTS
GCSE: Biology, Chemistry, Maths
A-Level: Biology, Chemistry
Morley College London
Biochemistry Sessional tutor (A-level equivalent, Access to higher education course)
Private Tutoring
Common Entrance: 11+
GCSE: Biology, Chemistry, Maths
New Scientist Live
Science communicator
Science Museum London
Science communicator
Science show presenter
School workshop leader
School for children with Autism
Teaching Assistant
SKILLS AND INTERESTS
I am a passionate individual who believes in the power of science communication. I have worked in various settings to deliver science education, from private tutoring to presenting science shows at the Science museum and New Scientist Live. Having worked as a childminder and teaching assistant for years, I can understand students in any age group pretty well and apply a holistic approach to learning where students can be proactive and feel empowered. My experience in public engagement expands beyond the science field. I am interested in improving public health hence why I have been dedicating my spare time volunteering at Solace Women’s Aid, Samaritans, Single Homeless Project and at a mental health hospital at Highgate for the past 3 years. These volunteering opportunities have offered me skills to advocate for the causes I care dearly for, which I believe are skills that could transfer well to many roles.
WORK EXPERIENCE
Biology and chemistry teacher, Morley College London
As a sessional biology and chemistry teacher at an adult education college in London, I plan, design, deliver, assess, evaluate and manage classroom activities.
Project manager, King’s College London iGEM team
Leading a King's College London team to compete at the International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition (iGEM), the largest synthetic biology competition worldwide and won a silver medal. Gained wet laboratory skills such as, protein purification, transformation, DNA prep to create new BioBricks, inoculation, plasmid amplification, UV Spectrophotometers and project management skills, including people management and laboratory equipment stock management.
Research Assistant, The institute of psychiatry, psychology and Neuroscience
Research assistant at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN), assisted with producing data for publications in psychiatry, mental health and neuroscience. Conducted systemic literature research on over 250 journal articles and performed the statistical analysis.
Acute Ward volunteer, Camden and Islington NHS foundation
The role of the acute ward volunteer is to enhance the service and stay for patients on our wards through spending time with patients, providing a listening ear, company or someone to talk to.
PERSONAL STATEMENT
I am a passionate individual who believes in the power of science communication. I have worked in various settings to deliver science education from private tutoring to presenting science shows at the Science museum and New Scientist Live.
During my time as a science communicator at the Science museum, I have gained first-hand experience with a variety of audience, especially with adults from different social and cultural backgrounds. My main roles included engaging with the individual visitors, guiding school group tours, leading school group activities and presenting science shows. These roles have helped me to develop adaptable communication skills and to be able to engage with a large number of audience with a number of different needs. I motivated and inspired large and diverse audiences through the delivery of memorable and engaging experiences. When delivering workshops and learning facilitation, I ensured that no audience’s understanding of science was compromised due to either oversimplifying or overcomplicating the content. The quality of class content, and thus of the audience’s learning, depends on the instructor’s understanding of science and the ability to sieve the appropriate materials according to the objectives of the class. As a biomedical science graduate, I have a deep understanding of biology and biochemistry, which I have learned to condense in order to present the gist of the vast amount of information to the variety of audience, from general public to academics in the field through public meetings, workshops and academic conferences. In addition, I have produced and hosted a number of Funzing talks, which are evening lectures for adults on topics that are not much accessible for people with limited science background. I was dedicated to creating talk materials of a high standard, yet had to find a way to translate them into simple English. Devising this production and editing the talk content required more research than giving a talk to academics in the field. Not only the understanding of the audience, but also choosing the appropriate delivery methods, played a crucial role in successfully delivering high quality teaching. For example, one talk I organised had the objective to create an informative presentation with key points and facts outlining both the advantages and disadvantages of gene editing and some of the ethical issues surrounding the topic. I delivered an interactive workshop and engaged with the public to make science more approachable. This public workshop stimulated public debate and promoted public discussion around gene editing and sequencing. I helped create a safe environment where learners from a range of backgrounds and communities could freely share their views and ask questions to progress further. Therefore, the sessions could equip public to make informed decisions or form educated opinions on a number of controversial matters around genetic medicine.
In addition to choosing the appropriate delivery methods, I believe recognising and meeting student’s needs and expectations is crucial in high standard teaching in order to stimulate their learning. Through my tutoring experience, I have encountered many students with different needs and expectations from my classes. For example, I had a student who chose not to disclose his
dyslexia and ADHD, which slowed his learning compared to his peers. Although I was not able to choose the most effective teaching methods in my first few classes with him, I recognised his strengths and weakness soon. I tailored the contents to be more visual and interactive in order to help him be more focused and engaged. He later on expressed his gratitude, as he felt this had enabled him to catch up with his peers as he had found an inclusive learning environment.
I am a person with compassion, empathy and patience. I always strive to truly listen and understand other’s situations. With my communication and social skills, I think that I am at an advantage when talking and spending time with students without causing any misunderstanding or troubles. I am confident in engaging with students as I not only have a background in communication as a science communicator, involving a lot of engaging with students, but also through counseling service users which I do weekly. Acknowledging that I am in a position to support the students, I will always be welcoming and provide a warm and safe learning environment for everyone in a classroom. I believe my experience in various different sectors with special needs and the skills I gained from each workplace will make me a competent Morley College tutor.
My experience in public engagement expands beyond the science field. I am interested in improving public health hence why I dedicate my spare time volunteering at Solace Women’s Aid, Samaritans and Mental Health Hospital at Highgate. These volunteering opportunities have offered me skills to advocate for the causes I dearly care which I believe is a skill that could transfer well in this job.