Information About Mark - Portmarnock tutor -

(6 reviews)

Personal Description:

Hello, my name is Dr. Mark and I am a medical doctor, having graduated with a First Class Honours degree in Medicine from Trinity College Dublin. I have been giving weekly grinds for the past ten years following my perfect Leaving Certificate in 2014 with 625 points and H1 grades in maths, applied maths, biology, chemistry, physics and English. I was awarded a five-year full academic scholarship for based on my Medicine exam results, and awarded the Professor's Prize in Medicine. I was the Head Boy in my local Portmarnock Community School, and I am Garda vetted. I have a Master’s degree in Health Service Policy and Management. I am available to give lessons via Zoom video call to support your school work and prepare you for exams.

Tutoring Experience:

I have a wealth of tutoring and lecturing experience. My students gain both confidence in their subjects, and improvements in their grades. Each academic year, I tutor nine Leaving Certificate students on a weekly basis, and have done so for the past ten years. As such, I not only have expert knowledge of my subjects, but also of the challenges facing Leaving Cert students and, crucially, how to overcome them.

I also lecture weekly on university-level biochemistry to first year Trinity College Medicine students.

Approach to Grinds:

I am a very patient person, and through my own experience of studying for the new Leaving Certificate maths course, I can relate and empathise with my students whilst imparting my knowledge, experience and complete understanding of my subjects and the state exams process to them.

I supply my own notes which I used to achieve A1 grades in my own Leaving Certificate, where necessary. However, my approach to teaching maths is to encourage the students to do as many questions as possible – maths should be viewed a skill, not something to be learned off. Therefore, I ensure that my students understand fundamental concepts in the maths course, rather than simply learning off methods for solving questions. This is the only approach that enables the student to be successful in the oftentimes abstract Project Maths course.

I was part of the first cohort of students to sit the first exam based on entire Project Maths syllabus, and I have a thorough understanding and love of it; my exam result put me in the 99th percentile in the country. Further, my study of Medicine has given me a deep understanding of Leaving Cert Biology.

I endeavour to resolve difficulties that students may be having with their subjects. I also aspire foster their interest in these subjects; a number of my students have gone on to study maths, engineering and biomedical science in college. I am particularly suited to teaching highly-motivated students who are aiming for high grades, but I cater for students of all abilities. I expect students to engage in the lessons and be willing to work very hard, with my support, to achieve their full potential. I am a firm believer that students will only improve if they themselves are willing to study and are intrinsically motivated.

If necessary, I give short weekly tests which I then grade and give feedback on. My students and I find that this is an effective method for improving exam technique, and also enables one to reflect on the progress made.