Information About James - Cork tutor -

(18 reviews)

Personal Description:

Hi, James here - With almost 40 years teaching experience, I offer ONE-TO-ONE online grinds in Leaving Cert Physics & Maths, using Zoom.
***Please note: IF REQUIRED, REDUCED RATES FOR GROUP Zoom calls.
My qualifications are B.Sc.HDipEd and MEd(Sc) with First Class Honours.
Just recently retired, having taught physics, maths & science full-time all my life - in a secondary school in Ireland. I enjoy teaching, and I have a friendly approach, which helps to form a positive relationship with the student from the beginning and build their confidence. My students have always achieved excellent results in their exams, achieving results consistently well above the national average.

I am currently a registered member of the Teaching Council of Ireland and Garda vetted re Túsla (Child Protection).
I can promise a patient, supportive professional approach. Listening to the student's needs, I explain the theory of a topic and work through specific examples and problems based on the theory.

In Maths, and Physics, I normally follow the market leader textbook, but I can use whatever other textbook that is used by the student in class if they prefer. Using my own resources, I use a combination of laptop and writing on a tablet: PowerPoints, handouts etc, I cover thorough explanation of all areas: theory, experiments, & problem-solving.

★ I believe that good communication is vital for online tuition. I find using a combination of WhatsApp messages & emails works best.

WhatsApp: I use WhatsApp messages to keep BOTH students & parents fully informed at all times in relation to scheduled lesson dates, clearly stating start times & arrangements made.

Emails: Follow-up after each lesson, I always send the emails which contain Lesson Notes + clear Homework instructions + Solutions + Resources to BOTH students and parents. This system works extremely well for me - it ensures that everyone is consistently kept in the loop at all times as to everything that's happening in the classes.

I offer tutoring in both Leaving Cert Higher & Ordinary Level Physics.
Tutoring offered in Leaving Cert Ordinary Level Maths only.
Leaving Cert and all senior cycle students are €80 per hour on weekdays.
Please note : The rate for all weekend classes is €100 per hour.
Fees for 1st Yr University students €100 per hour on weekdays.
Junior Cycle students €80 per hour weekdays.

Tutoring Experience:

Teaching has been my life's work: almost 40 years experience - teaching Physics, Maths & Science in a secondary school. I have also university tutoring experience, having tutored 1st Year Physics students in UCC.

Approach to Grinds:

Both laptop and a tablet for writing are used. For Physics, each session is normally a mix of teaching theory, including experiments working through examples of solved problems & past exam questions. This can vary according to the needs of the student. Memory work is examined, and the assigned homework always corrected. Past Exam questions are covered also. Any problems or difficulties with the homework are explained until the student is happy to proceed.

For maths I teach LC (OL) some teaching of new techniques in a topic followed by lots of working through problems to see that the student has grasped fully the material which has been taught. Past exam questions worked through also.

For all lessons at University & Senior Cycle, I include learning aids (e.g. summaries/video clips/ PowerPoints/animations/charts, etc.) if appropriate, to help understanding of the topic.

During lessons, I work using a combination of laptop for showing my own PowerPoint presentations, using online textbooks and I write and solve problems on a tablet. All the resources I use during the class are sent to the student afterwards, so they can use them offline themselves. These include all learning aids, handouts, worked examples, summaries/video clips/ PowerPoints/animations/charts, etc.) These all help to give concrete understanding of the topics covered.

Homework: Unless parents would prefer me not to - I always assign homework to the student as practice for the following grind. I strongly recommend this practice for good learning continuity.

★ As stated above, parents & students receive WhatsApp messages & emails. This ensures clear notifications of all lessons arranged & after each lesson, parents also receive all notes/homework emails too.

***In general, I don’t think it's a good idea to use the lesson as a session where I just complete school homework assignments/projects/tests for the student. This amounts to cheating, and can be quite damaging to the student, in the long run and hampers his/her progress. We can go through the school homework after solutions have been officially given, if the student is still unsure about the material.