Jacqueline Smoler
Owner, Director and Principal Tutor Jacqueline Smoler: a highly qualified teacher with over 30 years’ experience teaching in a variety of South Australian public and independent schools and tertiary institutions.
I am a highly qualified secondary school teacher with over 30 years’ experience teaching middle school Science and Mathematics (aligned to either the Australian National Curriculum (ACARA) or the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (IBMYP), as well as senior (Stage 1 and Stage 2) Biology, including both the South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE) and the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) in a variety of school settings including both leading public and independent schools in South Australia. Additionally, in recent years I have been sought by two South Australian universities to share my expertise as a casual sessional instructor with second and third-year undergraduate students in Primary Mathematics and Science education. I have been tutoring primary school students for the past fourteen years in literacy, mathematics and science. I have undertaken intensive training in the Playberry Literacy program for Dyslexia and achieved all three levels of certification (Teaching Students with Dyslexia {TSD}Tier 3 courses 1, 2 and 3) which I have been instructing in with primary/middle school students for over ten years. Additionally, I have recently undertaken several professional development sessions in the use of suffixes led by Bill Hansberry of Hansberry Educational Consulting.
My past attendance at multiple international, national and interstate conferences/workshops throughout my career, achievement of the 2009 runner-up in the BHP Billiton National Science Teachers Award (held in Melbourne), the South Australian 2009 World Teaching Day excellence in Science teaching award, and completion of a Master’s Degree in Education studies in 2018, are examples of my high degree of commitment to improving my own knowledge and teaching to foster engagement and better develop the understanding of my students. My Master’s Degree in Education (M.Ed.) dissertation explored teaching approaches to laboratory practical report writing for senior students in the IBDP Biology programme.
As I move forward in tuition, I continue to regularly attend workshops and conferences to keep abreast of current issues in various fields of endeavour such as Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects, literacy and approaches to working with neurodivergent students.
Experienced, enthusiastic, patient and caring approach to teaching both school-age and adult students.
I pride myself in assisting my students to make significant improvements in their studies through a combination of my professional expertise, patience, sense of humour and care. In terms of my teaching approach, I use teaching practices based upon constructivist learning principles which emphasise the importance of engaging interest and establishing prior knowledge of students before teaching, in order to identify any misconceptions in student learning. Following this approach, my students are allowed time to explore the concepts through participating in activities designed to help them further develop their understanding which often results in a modification of their original ideas.
Through specific, targeted interventions, students are encouraged to reflect upon their ideas, while developing their understanding. Such interventions include using a wide range of teaching strategies that cater for the diverse developmental stages and learning styles of students such as:
- Digital literacy development in which students learn how to effectively select and use the most appropriate digital tools, such as scientific graphic calculators, online graphical software including Desmos, GeoGebra, and Social Science Statistics and Excel spreadsheet software to enhance learning in a way that protects their own safety and that of others.
- Explicit direct instruction involving teacher-led demonstrations and explanations of concepts combined with exploratory open-ended inquiry activities that encourage student exploration through student-centred investigations that foster curiosity. PowerPoint presentations that include visual representations are often used to assist senior students in Biology to better understand concepts.
- Manipulatives use involves hands-on physical objects that are frequently used to assist students to better understand abstract concepts. When developing numeracy skills in mathematics, students are often encouraged to work with manipulatives, such as base 10 blocks, number lines, 2-dimensional shapes and nets, analogue clocks, times table flash cards, dice and counters. Development of literacy skills in students with dyslexia is achieved through using wooden alphabet letters to enhance visual and auditory memory.
- Study skills techniques are explicitly taught as required to enhance the student’s learning by reinforcing understanding and retention of concepts (e.g. Cornell note-taking, active recall, mind maps, flash cards, use of revision guides, past test/examination papers). I can provide personally tailored study skills sessions for students of all ages in this important area of learning.
Convenient EFT Fee Payment System
Fees are invoiced to clients and then paid via electronic funds transfer (EFT) to the On Track Tuition bank account. Payments are made in advance of the tuition lessons with receipts being sent to all clients for funds received. There is no credit card payment scheme available.
Please contact On Track Tuition for specific fee information, as there is some variation dependent on duration of session and subject area.