Meghan

I am available to tutor new tutees this year for Higher and/or National 5 English exams. I am looking to tutor in-person, in the Falkirk and Stirling areas.

I am a highly-qualified and experienced high school teacher and university lecturer who has been teaching since 2012, gaining my PhD in 2016 and my PGDE (teacher's degree) in 2017. I have been teaching ages 11-adult on a full-time basis since.

I currently work at a large comprehensive school and teach for Stirling University's International Summer school. I am a recognised expert in the field of English Studies and have contributed to several peer-reviewed publications.

Previous clients and pupils have described me as friendly, kind, modern, approachable and enthusiastic. Comments from parents which I am proud of include: 'organised', 'good knowledge of the curriculum', 'very pleasant and easy to talk to', 'has a nice easy-going personality', 'Meghan immediately put the kids at ease', and '[my child] is gaining confidence which he lacked before'. These can be viewed in my reviews below.

I did my teacher training at Strathclyde University (formerly Jordanhill). I have a PhD in Scottish Studies, an MLitt in Modern Scottish Writing, and a BA (Hons) in English Studies, all from Stirling University, where I have also undergone training in teaching -- including assessment and examination -- and gained recognition as a teacher from students and colleagues over the last decade. When fellow teachers observe me, a comment that has been made a few times is 'I would be happy for my own children to be in your class'.

I hold an enhanced Disclosure Scotland certificate, which demonstrates that the Scottish government has certified me to work with young people and vulnerable people of all ages, through their Protection of Vulnerable Groups scheme.

My rates reflect my experience and qualifications but are negotiable to families who would otherwise find it difficult to afford tuition.

Tutoring Experience

I have over a decade of experience tutoring and teaching at Senior Phase. I have been tutoring and teaching National 5 and the current iteration of Higher since they were first implemented, so I can confidently say I know these curricula and qualifications very well.

I am an experienced SQA marker and work with SQA markers across all levels on a daily basis to ensure quality teaching that attains highly. I consistently earn positive feedback for making online learning effective and enjoyable. Pupils have praised me for my commitment to them and my work ethic.

I am a recognised expert in Scottish writing, and have authored several peer-reviewed publications. All three of my degrees have included a strong Scottish Literature component. I have written and taught on various courses on the subject at university level and am a recognised expert in the work of the prescribed Scottish writers. For this reason I am ideally equipped to teach the Scottish Literature paper required as part of National 5 and Higher. Scottish texts are increasingly popular with teachers setting work for the essay paper, and I am ideally equipped to facilitate essay writing on Scottish texts, as well as having other areas of particular teaching expertise in 20th century fiction, Arthur Miller, poetry, Advanced Higher and film study.

Tutoring Approach

I am a deeply committed tutor - I create a bespoke programme of learning for each tutee. The programme I create for your child will connect closely to what they study in class. I will provide materials and work tailored to your child's learning and the stage that they are at within that learning. I will provide demonstrations, detailed feedback, opportunities for candidates to 'talk through' their thinking and processes, and clear instructions on what is expected and how to attain the 'next level' in their learning. Most importantly, I will be consistently friendly, encouraging, personable and knowledgeable for your young person.

Many learners find the large tasks they are asked to complete in English - i.e. writing an essay - very daunting. I am experienced in chunking these tasks down and focusing on smaller aspects in order to improve overall performances. I use highly focussed exercises such as 'the perfect paragraph', or I might do an entire lesson focussing on one style of close-reading question - i.e. 'in your own words' - in order to help you child master one central skill at a time. I also do exercises designed to increase their depth of understanding and metacognition: i.e. getting them to mark their own work according to the SQA standard (self-assessment), or to mark exemplars that I have created (this mimics the peer-assessment technique). This aids in building skills such as close-reading, critical evaluation, essay writing, redrafting and proof-reading.

In accordance with the SQA's Curriculum for Excellence, I believe in Active Learning - that is, facilitating a student-led approach in engaging with texts and course material. My teaching style orients around setting a student achievable tasks, noticing where they get 'stuck' and focusing on these problem areas through talking them through it and modelling positive exemplars. This functions to both increase a student's self esteem and ability.

I am proud that pupils and parents have found me an approachable tutor. My students do not hesitate to ask me for help when they require it. My experience teaching all age-groups means I do not 'talk down to' or patronise students, enabling them to feel comfortable and receptive to learning.

Many of my lessons are spent extending and supporting what has been done in the student's classroom on the relevant week. The privilege of the one-to-one setting, with fewer constraints of time and differing levels in the room, means that I am able to tailor these to help the student progress through a constant process of 'formative assessment'. Formative assessment is the educational theory term used to describe continual discourse between teacher and learner, as well the continual and ongoing modification of the learning in order to tailor it to the student's needs at this particular point in their learning. My teaching is up-to-date with research that shows that constant, high-quality discussion and feedback on work is the most advantageous teaching method for learners.