Chess Club for Rookies: Practice and Analysis

Dear parents and learners, 

Welcome to my profile! Thank you for your interest in my classes. 

I have a degree in psychology from McGill University with a strong interest in child development. Previously, I worked on multiple projects on the development of e-health tools for breast cancer prevention at the Loiselle Lab and education-related studies at the Pragmatic Lab at McGill where we experimented to better understand young participants’ learning process on screens. To further my insight on the delivery of information online and e-learning, I am currently conducting research on the effects of Zoom fatigue as a graduate student at Laval University.  

I have more than 5 years of teaching experience working with children from the age of 6 to 14, from the McGill joint program like the Taylor Adolescent program at the Montreal Fluency Center to the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry program at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute. I also taught ESL online to children from China and Japan. In addition to working with children, I worked as a teaching assistant for the sleep mechanism course at McGill. (Highly recommend it!)

These experiences equipped me with scientific knowledge, strong observational skills and flexibility to adapt my teaching style to work with students from different cultural backgrounds or with different needs. I believe that learning is supported through intrinsic motivation and a growth mindset. In addition to the content learning, It is important for all learners to understand the learning process and psychology. For this reason, I put a great emphasizes on breaking down each step and representing all ideas as concretely as possible through imagery. Lastly, the best way for knowledge to stick is through fun discussions and real-life applications. My vision is for my students to become independent learners and be able to improve their own study plan according to their strength and weaknesses. 

Lastly, and most importantly, I played chess throughout my childhood and I wish to introduce my passion to young learners. I played competitively in Canada for many years, notably at the Canadian Youth Chess Championship and had the chance to represent my country in international competitions such as the World Youth Chess Championship. I think this game is a fun way to develop strategies, analysis, planning, empathy and most importantly, make friends with others and the self. 

I look forward to seeing you in the classroom!

Warm regards, 

Louisa