Julian

I have spent most of my working life as a Mathematics teacher in secondary schools. I studied Mechanical Engineering at university and worked for Ford Motor Company as a production engineer in their assembly plants, a chance to see Mathematics in real life. I am now semi-retired, and my main hobby is working at the Bluebell Railway helping to restore vintage railway coaches, having just helped to complete a Southern Railway goods van. I have three children, all of whom I have helped with their studies when they were at school, my eldest daughter is training to be a primary school teacher, which makes me very proud. I am a life member of the Royal Horticultural Society, being a keen gardener, with a particular interest in Mediterranean planting schemes. Our family enjoy travelling, this summer we are doing a road trip to Istanbul, the aim to drive to Asia and do lots of sight-seeing along the way. My interests are quite diverse, and I really enjoy challenges and new adventures.

Tutoring Experience

I have spent thirty-two years working in six different secondary schools, teaching Mathematics the 11 to 18 year age group. I have worked in many roles, being Head of Department in two of the schools and leading the department to achieve excellent examination results for the students. I am a registered Open University mentor and participated in the training and induction of new teaching staff. I have been an exam board moderator, organising the checking and marking of coursework to ensure high standards of marking were maintained. My Master’s Degree in Mathematics Education focussed on how children learn Mathematics, moving from concrete to abstract principles. I have a particular interest in helping students who find Mathematics challenging and hard to access. This involved creating learning resources and lesson plans to help all staff address certain fundamental learning points in the subject, so that pupils could continue to progress in their learning.

Tutoring Approach

My overall philosophy of Mathematics teaching is to promote interest and enthusiasm in the subject. I use a range of resources to help make the learning more engaging, with high quality teaching and explanations. Diagnosing exactly what students find hard is fundamental and working out individual learning needs is vital. In this way I direct my teaching to exactly what students need to learn next. Taking a very step by step approach is important, so that the learning is broken down into small, manageable pieces. It is also motivational as students can see the progress they are making as time goes by. Lots of practice and revision is needed in order to achieve high quality retention. There is no point in pupils being given a “guided tour” of Mathematics, there needs to be rigour in the learning and time for checking understanding with lots of problem-solving tasks. My main objective for students is for the learning to be both enjoyable and meaningful. Practice is the key to retention, enjoying the learning and seeing the progress through deeper understanding being made makes for a better quality learning experience for the students.