Dr Anja Komatar (they/them)

Profile

I am a mathematician with over 15 years of experience supporting students with learning maths. I love maths and I am interested in how we learn maths, especially the impact of maths anxiety and maths confidence on the ability to learn. 

I started my current role as a Maths Support Advisor in 2019. During my PhD I taught as a Postgraduate Tutor in the School of Maths, as an Outreach Fellow in schools across Leeds and Bradford, and as a Maths Support Tutor with the Maths and Statistics Space in the library.  

Responsibilities

• Leading the core maths provision in the Learning Development Team.
• Managing Maths Support Tutors.
• Working with module and programme leads to identify opportunities to embed maths teaching.

Qualifications

• Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice, University of Leeds
• PhD in Mathematics, University of Leeds
• MMath Part III, University of Cambrige
• BA (Hons) in Mathematics, University of Cambridge

Professional memberships

• Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy

Student education

I offer one-to-one appointments for taught students in which I support them with their own learning goals. Broadly, the students accessing the service include the following. 

• Students who have not completed an A level in Maths but have a mathematics module or assignment as a component of their degree programme. This includes student nurses preparing for their drug calculations exams. 

• Students who have done A level Maths or equivalent and are studying a course that involves a lot of mathematics, for example Computing, Physics or Engineering. 

• Students studying mathematics or a related course in the School of Mathematics. 

Support is tailored to the student, taking into account their level of maths experience and learning goals. I know that our disabled students face barriers when accessing support and I actively seek to remove barriers to studying maths for students with a disability and they are welcome to discuss any adjustments needed prior to their appointments. 

I offer workshops for the Skills@Library programme where students can work together in a relaxed environment, to enhance their confidence in maths problem solving. 

I offer sessions on maths skills and maths anxiety which can be embedded in the curriculum.  These sessions are co-designed and co-delivered with academic colleagues on modules that include maths or calculation skills. For example, I offer a revision session for engineering students which discusses a past exam paper and what techniques the students could use to revise for the mathematical questions.