Marko

Hi, I am Marko and I was born in Germany into a multicultural family, my mother being German and my father Serbian. I also grew up in the culturally diverse district of Ruhr, one of most densely populated regions in Europe, which in its past attracted several blue collar workers from all over Europe. As a child I was infamous for constantly bombarding people with questions and just being generally inquisitive. I enjoyed going to school and learning new things, which at age 12 translated into three classmates asking me to tutor them in Maths, my favourite subject. That's when I realised, for the first time, that a good education literally has its benefits. Luckily for me, this was just a natural extension of something that I already held a true passion for. Fast forward to today, although I graduated in Information System, I always continued to work in the realm of Education and do so to this date. The major reason for this is a combination of pleasure and meaning that I derive from imparting knowledge to others, as well as the relatively independent lifestyle it provides me. Additionally, I believe that a child can be academically successful regardless of their origin, with myself serving as an example of someone who became the first academic out of a family of blue collar workers and farmers.

After having lived and worked in Vienna as an independent Maths and English tutor, many clients asked if I ever considered teaching at a regular school, which by that time I frankly had not. This would have meant going back to university for another five years, which during that stage of my life was simply not feasible. Regardless, I did not discard this idea entirely and after many years of sharing my knowledge privately, I sensed that I was ready for the next step. I was always quite curious about East/South East Asia in general and, at that time, China in particular. This lead to me paying my Chinese-Malaysian best friend a visit in China where he lived and worked for almost a decade. After showing me around the Southern China, I imagined myself there and the simplest way to do so was through education. I was provided with the opportunity to work at three different 'internationalised' schools with heavy Chinese characteristics. Teaching in that kind of environment required from me a huge amount of flexibility and adaptability, at times even beyond what my personal values would allow. The most beneficial experiences for me were being able to conduct my classes within different frameworks such as AP and IGCSE, how to persevere in a less than ideal environment and still put the learners first, as well as how to effectively teach lessons for large classes online (due to COVID).
Fast forward to autumn 2020, I enrolled in a PGCE course at the University of Sunderland which I have just recently completed. As part of it, I had the pleasure to teach Key Stages 3 and 4 in Mathematics at a British school in Spain for a total of twelve weeks.

In my spare time, I enjoy educating myself, especially on topics concerning the implementation of digital learning/classrooms. I also indulge in exploring new types of sports, although I mostly enjoy spending time with friends on a tennis court. I used to Latin dance as well and even considered moving to and living in Spain or another Spanish speaker country since I also hold an affinity for their history and culture. This interest in different cultures certainly ties back into my cultural background as well as the region where I grew up in, which, to date, remains a true melting pot. It's for these reasons that I enjoy sharing my knowledge with young people and finding myself in a truly international environment that respects values of mutual acceptance.

Tutoring Experience

Oct 2021 - Feb 2022
Mathematics Teacher (Volunteer), British School Vila-Real (Vila-real, Castelló, Spain)

- Teach IGCSE Mathematics to Years 7, 8, 9 & 11
- Design and teach interactive, engaging and challenging lessons.
- Conduct formative and summative assessments with marking, feedback and progress tracking.
- Using Dr. Frost as a teaching and assessment tool.
- Coordinate the chess club.

Sept 2019 - July 2020
Educational Coordinator, QingTeng Academy at Alcanta International College (China)

- Created and enforced the Standard Operating Procedures school-wide.
- Designed the Student and Teacher’s Handbooks.
- Taught German to Year 8-11 students in preparation for exams.
- Co-authored the S.T.E.A.M Student textbook and Teacher’s handbook.
- Taught STEAM classes to Year 8-11 students.

August 2018 - July 2020
Secondary Teacher, Guangzhou Foreign Language School (Nansha, China)

- Taught AP Calculus, AP Statistics and AP German for Year 11-13 students of the International Programs in preparation for exams.
- Taught German to Year 8-13 students in the German Language Program.
- Taught ICT and Cross Cultural Communication to Year 13 students ahead of their departure to University.

August 2017 - July 2018
Primary Teacher, Sanshui Foreign Languages School BFSU (Foshan, China)

Taught the Cambridge Primary Curriculum for English as a Second Language, Science and Music to Year 5-6 students.

Tutoring Approach

Ultimately, I consider my job to be done once a pupil is put into a position to reliable solve Maths related problems without my assistance.

To reach that state it is paramount for leaners to gradually develop a sense of self confidence and conscious competence. Since every pupil is different in terms of their mathematical strengths and weaknesses as well as their emotional development, there is no one size fits all formula that works for every individual. Instead, from my experience, a tailor-made approach to every single student leads to desired improvements and outcomes.

My teaching is underpinned by an emphasis on clear structure, rigour and mutual respect in order to create an environment conducive for learning and developing a sense of ownership.