Jennifer - Southsea tutor






Information About Jennifer:


Personal Description:

I am not currently accepting new students until 2014 due t work commitments. I am a first class honours graduate in Education Studies and Social Inclusion from Trinity College, Carmarthen, CELTA qualified and experienced educator. I am a very friendly, outgoing and enthusiastic tutor with a wealth of experience in supporting students of varying abilities, age groups and backgrounds in achieving their goals. Additionally I have many hobbies and interests and I enjoy meeting new people and travelling.



Teaching Experience:

I am a first class honours graduate in Education Studies and Social Inclusion from Trinity College, Carmarthen, CELTA qualified and experienced educator. I am a very friendly, outgoing and enthusiastic tutor with a wealth of experience in supporting students of varying abilities, age groups and backgrounds in achieving their goals. I am a CELTA qualified well experienced educator that has worked in a variety of educational settings and with a diverse group of students. My most recent employment was as an Academic Skills Tutor at Birmingham City University where I taught international students Study Skills, Critical Thinking, Research Skills, Plagiarism, English for Academic Purposes and English as a Foreign Language on a class, group and individual tutorial basis. This role also involved preparing students for living and studying in the UK and assignments, presentations and examinations, then assessing assignments, presentations and examinations and providing feedback. Whilst living in Asia I worked at an International University in a similar position as an Academic and Pre Academic English Lecturer, delivering lectures on Study Skills, Critical Thinking, Research Skills, Plagiarism, English for Academic Purposes and English as a Foreign Language. Preparing students for examinations, assignments and assessments and assessing students' examinations, assignments, presentations and participation and provide feedback. As part of this role I also provided grammar workshops which focused on common grammatical errors. Both these roles also included developing academic vocabulary and enhancing reading and writing skills. Whilst working as a lecturer I was also employed as a tutor and worked with a variety of students including children, young people and adults wanting to improve their English skills. One student in particular regularly received a 5.5 score at IELTS but needed a score of 6.5 to relocate to Australia, with private tuition and hard work the student received a score of 7, within 4 weeks.

I have also worked as an English Language teacher in Asia teaching English to children aged 4-16 of varying abilities and teaching adults - aged 16 and over from level 1 to level 10 (beginner to advanced) focusing on reading and writing skills and teaching a conversation class to adults of varying abilities. In this role I was also required to assess student's English abilities in all skill areas, record progression and write final reports/certificates and assess, interview and place potential students in appropriate classes. I have also been employed as an NVQ Assessor in Health and Social Care, working with candidates on a 1:1, face to face basis, some of whom, required additional support due to basic skills needs or additional needs such as dyslexia. I worked with candidates to achieve vocational skill qualifications and key skills qualifications such as; literacy and ICT through providing appropriate learning materials and resources based on the needs of the individual candidate. Due to the nature of obtaining vocational qualifications, candidates were given tasks and learning materials to encourage the development of many transferable skills such as; study skills. I thoroughly enjoyed working on a 1:1 basis with candidates mainly supporting students that left school without any qualifications working in the health and social care sector to achieve their educational and career goals. Due to time constraints, students often completed assigned tasks and activities well in advance of a visit at their employment. Therefore candidates were encouraged to submit work via correspondence for feedback and analysis and were given guidance on many activities and encouraged to complete more than one task between visits, encouraging candidates to work autonomously on their portfolios. I have also been contracted by Trinity University College to create a social inclusion training pack to be used by a charity to train professionals working in the health and social care sector. The training materials were based on legislation and policies relevant to professionals working with people with additional needs, mostly young people in the educational and home environment. The aim of the training pack was to ensure understanding of all relevant legislation and policies and give examples and encourage discussion of how professionals could put these policies into everyday practice, encourage best practice in their organisation and encourage and foster the ideals of social inclusion.

During the CELTA course I had to complete assignments which included choosing a student to work with in order to support the student in improving their English. I met the student many times during the course to establish the needs and goals of the student and to assess their English in each of the four areas. I then shared my findings with the student and discussed a possible action plan, I continue to work with this student by correspondence. I also completed the first year of BAed Primary School Teacher Training which provided me with an excellent understanding of KS1 and KS2 curriculum and valuable experience of working with and teaching children aged 4-11 using a variety of methods and teaching a variety of subjects including English and Mathematics. I also have experience of working with children and young adults with special needs in a supportive rather than teaching role, as a Community Carer and as a Playscheme Support Worker. This supportive role has allowed me to develop many transferable skills and gain relevant experience and understanding of the importance of holistic needs and development, effective communication, advocacy, fostering and promoting the rights of others and equal opportunities and social inclusion for all, encouraging and supporting independence, reflective practice and professional practice.



Tutoring Approach:

I am a positive supportive tutor who is enthusiastic about learning and teaching and enjoy supporting students in achieving their goals. My tutoring approach is to support the individual needs and goals of the students and design a unique individual learning plan based on these needs and aims. I usually use the first two sessions to gain a greater understanding of the students aims and reasons for tutoring and what they hope to achieve from the process. I also use this time to discuss availability and location of tutoring and mutually agree on the best form the tutoring should take. The second session is usually used to assess the student's learning style and identify and recognise the students strengths and areas for development and gain greater understanding of the student's personality and interests. This information is then used to enable me to use appropriate and effective teaching techniques, learning materials and activities and tailor interesting and accessible lesson plans based on the individual needs and goals of the student. I encourage students to be autonomous and motivated learners and usually provide homework to be completed in a mutually agreeable timeframe the amount of work completed during tutoring sessions is dependent on the learner and I will provide supplementary materials if all learning objectives have been achieved during the session.



Map showing Jennifer's location

Qualifications:

  • CELTA Qualified
  • 1st class degree in Education Studies and Social Inclusion
  • 1st year of Primary School Teacher Training Degree
  • A levels, GNVQ and GCSEs.

Further Information:

Availability:  Weekends / Weekdays (all times)
Types of Tutoring:   Travels to you / From their home / Online
References Supplied?   Yes
Additional Languages Spoken:   Welsh, Spanish