Jean

In my early working life I trained in horses and after buying my own horses I then worked for many years at Aviva to pay for them! Later I decided I wanted to do something more worthwhile and enjoyable than working for an insurance company so I returned to education, first to college and then to university achieving an honours degree in Animal Biology. Along the way I discovered a passion for teaching and went onto to train as a biology teacher, achieving registration with the General Teaching Council of Scotland. I am exploring ways I can use my skills to benefit the children and adult learners of Scotland and beyond. Passionate about animals, wildlife and the countryside, I also hold a several bat licences, work part time as a bat ecologist, rescue and rehabilitate bats across Tayside and volunteer with several wildlife organisations.

Tutoring Experience

My passion for teaching developed when volunteering for Tayside Bat Group, leading bat walks and delivering talks on bat ecology to children and adult organisations across Tayside. After achieving a 2:1 degree in animal biology I returned to my local high school as an adult pupil in order to achieve the qualifications necessary to enter the Professional Graduate Diploma in Education at Edinburgh Napier University, where I gained experience teaching in person at schools across Perthshire and Angus and remote teaching in a Highland Council school during the Covid-19 pandemic. To complete my registration, I spent a year teaching at McLaren High School in Callander achieving the professional standards required and building relationships with the pupils there, who achieved excellent results in their exams.

Tutoring Approach

Committed to continuing my professional learning and improving my own teaching, I am keen to use my knowledge and passion to help our youngsters gain the confidence and knowledge they need to succeed in their exams. I have a student-focused approach, working with the learner on goal-orientated learning to grow their understanding and build confidence to achieve results. However, if the learners goal is simply to enjoy learning with no particular exam or focus in mind, we can plan individual learning to suit their particular interests. Along with biology I am also happy to teach Environmental Science.