Meet your Tutors
We are available to help and support you!
If you would like to meet us, join us at one of our free webinar sessions, book a complimentary 20-minute trial lesson with us or watch us on our YouTube channel (Master Coaching and Tuition Pty. Ltd.).
Your Tutors
Elizabeth Nicholls (Director and Administrator), Peter Nicholls (Assistant Director), Emily Simmenauer, Annette Brennan, Felicity Moore, Dylan Bissell, Anastasiia S, Ali Mirsephai and Madeleine Giuffre.
Director: Elizabeth Nicholls
Elizabeth (B. Mus. B. Teach Hons. Full VIT Registration) is an experienced and passionate classroom teacher, tutor, coach, mentor and resume writer. She makes learning enjoyable and achievable for children and adults.
Elizabeth is available to help you ‘Master’ your chosen subject, to help you achieve your learning goals, to assist you with your learning needs and to assist you in achieving the skills required to be confident and capable in your chosen subject. Elizabeth has enjoyed many years teaching and mentoring students through their love of learning.
- Elizabeth has taught for many years as a Classroom and Instrumental Music teacher to primary and secondary School students.
- Elizabeth has taught for many years as a Classroom English teacher to secondary school students, as well as private English tuition to primary and secondary school students.
- Elizabeth is a teaching mentor to pre-service and graduate teachers completing their tertiary studies or first probationary year in school teaching, including VIT Portfolio mentorship.
- Elizabeth spends most of her time tutoring and coaching pre-service teachers preparing for their LANTITE Literacy Examination. She is an expert in the LANTITE Exams.
- Elizabeth is also a Casual Relief Teacher at a secondary college and enjoys teaching students all subjects from Year 7 to 12.
- Elizabeth has written, presented and recorded numerous LANTITE webinars. She has written three LANTITE Literacy Practice Exams.
- Elizabeth loves supporting hundreds of pre-service teachers each year, nation-wide and internationally. She understands the importance of having strong literacy skills as an individual, as a teacher in the classroom and for life.
- She provides ongoing training and support to her large team of tutors, modelling and passing on teaching excellence and providing guidance.
- Elizabeth enjoys preparing students for upcoming school exams such as NAPLAN.
- She has run EAL classes for individuals and groups, including employees working in factories.
- Overall, Elizabeth adores the English language and the art of teaching it, helping students develop a passion for writing, speaking and listening.
- Elizabeth gives ample feedback in regards to grammar, punctuation, spelling, syntax, as well as overall design and layout. Elizabeth has been teaching English in Australia as well as abroad, including Cambodia and Indonesia.
Work Coach: Peter Nicholls (Assistant Director)
- Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting and Finance, Monash University)
- Cert IV Workplace Training & Assessment
- Cert IV in Graphic and Web Design
- Cert IV in Small Business Management
- Peter invested x6 years in the Accounting Industry – including managing World Visions Budget plus other Management roles.
- Other roles in his 28 year career have included Community Services / NFP Consulting and Graphic Design.
- Almost 15 years has been committed to direct coaching and training teams and individuals.
Peter has a wealth of experience, having held diverse Leadership roles in the workforce over the past 30 years: eg. Chartered and Management Accounting, Charity Fundraising with World Vision, Graphic and Web Design, Bookshop Retail Management, Sales and Marketing plus a decade of front-line Community work.
Peter is a wonderfully warm-hearted communicator, with a gracious, empathetic personality and sound relating and networking skills, which are crucial credentials as a tutor and coach.
Peter’s specific expertise includes:
- Building Strong vibrant “People Networks”
- Building Motivated and inspired teams
- Career and Life Coaching, having coached and mentored over 200+ Graduates
- Direct Communicating and Creative copy for Message delivery
- Fundraising and Donor cultivation strategies.
- EAL/ESL coaching and tuition, in particular, Conversational English
Peter has a Level 2 in First Aid, as well as Mental Health First Aid Training. Peter has a current WWCC (Working with Children’s Check), including current NPHCs (National Police History Checks).
Tutor: Emily Simmenauer
Emily Simmenauer (Double Bachelor of Teaching (Secondary) / Bachelor of Arts at Deakin University) is an enthusiastic and professional English and Literacy tutor who has spent years as both a student and teacher of her chosen subjects. Emily can teach all age groups; Prep-Year 10 English and EAL, VCE English and Literature, LANTITE Literacy and Adult EAL.
Emily has experience in public and private schools as a pre-service teacher and volunteer for the Deakin University Alliance Program in schools across Victoria, providing her with diverse professional skills in English and Literacy in order to provide individualised tutoring sessions, personally tailored to your individual capabilities and learning style. These tutoring sessions are also in alignment with VCAA curriculum (Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority) and AITSL (Australian Institute of Teaching and School Leadership) teaching standards.
Emily herself has undertaken and passed the LANTITE test in 2019 and understands the pressure and nerves that are associated with concentrating on being successful in the LANTITE test alongside university study and teaching practicum. However, she believes her experience and professional knowledge will support students in both developing practical skills for undertaking the LANTITE, and also boost their confidence and resilience in being able to tackle any challenge that the test throws at them.
Emily has developed her passion for reading and writing since Primary school that has led her to majoring in Literary studies in her own university education, so whilst she is a tutor and teacher she believes that she is also a learner (Locke 2014) alongside and in collaboration with her students, and understands that in order to motivate learning you must have a positive rapport with your students (Bidwell & Waller cited in Pace 2003, p. 37).
Emily uses High Impact Teaching Strategies (HIT) from the Victorian Department of Education to inform and structure her tutoring sessions in order for students to access a wide range of activities that are both challenging and informative. Emily also frequently seeks feedback from students and their families in order to advise her own personal self-reflection on her professional pedagogies and praxis, so she can grow and adapt her teaching skills.
So, if you want effective and constructive feedback on homework, School Assessed Coursework (SACs), Exam preparation for VCE English and Literature, Common Assessment Tasks (CATs), and LANTITE for Pre-Service Teachers then Emily would love to be in contact to assist in coaching and tuition for you to be successful in your personal educational goals.
For any enquiries or more information please go to mastercoachingandtuition.com.au/contact or visit our Facebook page facebook.com/mcataustralia.
References
- Department of Education and Training Victoria 2017, High impact teaching strategies: excellence in teaching and learning, DET, retrieved 26 August 2019, <https://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/school/teachers/support/Expired/0000highimpactteachstrat-expired.pdf>.
- Locke, T 2014, Developing writing teachers: practical ways for teacher-writers to transform their classroom practice, Routledge, retrieved 1 July 2018, ProQuest Ebook Central.
- Pace, JL 2003, Managing the dilemmas of professional and bureaucratic authority in a high school English class’, Sociology of Education, vol. 76, pp. 37-52.
Tutor: Annette Brennan
Annette Brennan is a qualified secondary school teacher who has specialised in teaching English as a second language (ESL, EAL). She has been teaching English and Literacy for 20 years. Annette has worked in high schools and private RTO’s, teaching EAL, ELICOS and TAFE, teaching English foundation skills and EAL in Australia for vocational study.
Annette has also worked in universities, both in Australia and in China, teaching Academic English skills, preparing students for further study who are undergraduates and post graduate students. Annette has also worked overseas in Indonesia and China. She is familiar with teaching in a setting where students are learning English as a second language.
Annette has taught refugees, newly arrived migrants, mainstream and English as a second language (EAL) to school students, as well as at an advanced level IELTS and academic skills. Annette is experienced in private one-on-one tutoring online, as well as face-to-face and has worked with small and large groups of students online and face-to-face to face.
Annette finds teaching Literacy and the skills in reading, writing, speaking and listening very rewarding, as students improve their English language skills within class activities, as well as through homework, based on class tasks.
Annette feels confident that she can teach students effective ways of studying English, EAL, IELTS and LANTITE Literacy to achieve their goals.
Tutor: Felicity Moore
Felicity Moore is a passionate and enthusiastic tutor of literacy. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (The University of Melbourne) and a Graduate Diploma of Education (Secondary) (LaTrobe University), as well as a Certificate IV in Library and Information Services (Chisholm Institute). Felicity spent ten years working in a Melbourne secondary college where she taught a range of English and Humanities subjects, with a particular focus on supporting students with low literacy skills. During her time teaching she mentored numerous pre-service teachers during their placements and places a high importance on encouraging and guiding those entering the teaching profession. She also supported teachers in other discipline areas in applying literacy techniques in the classroom.
Both as a teacher and as a tutor, Felicity endeavors to personalise learning for her students. She understands that not everybody learns in the same way and takes into account each student’s individual abilities, experiences, goals and interests. She has worked with students of a wide range of cultural backgrounds and special learning needs.
In her spare time Felicity loves to read a wide range of fiction and non-fiction texts. She enjoys eating Vietnamese food, painting and spending time with her family.
Felicity is able to support a wide range of students seeking to improve their literacy skills, so whether you are preparing for the LANTITE exam, a school-aged student needing literacy tuition, a university student needing help or an EAL speaker wanting a conversation partner, Felicity would love to meet you!
Tutor: Dylan Bissell
Dylan (Bachelor of Education: Early Childhood and Primary) is a highly devoted and passionate mathematical tutor that has spent years continuing to develop the method in which he teaches. Dylan can teach all age groups; primary school, high school, university and LANTITE Numeracy. Helping to reach your mathematical goals. Dylan’s strong point and passion has always been Mathematics. This has led him to pass the LAN Numeracy test on his first attempt.
Dylan is confident he will be able to coach anyone who needs tutoring prior to sitting their LANTITE test. His experience and knowledge of the LANTITE test, will allow him to prepare his students to achieve.
Dylan is currently an early childhood teacher and has been for three years. As an early childhood teacher, one of the most important responsibilities is developing and implementing a curriculum to assist in meeting learning outcomes. Dylan has also been a tutor for over three years where he has assisted students to achieve their learning goals.
“We learn more by looking for the answer to a question and not finding it than we do from learning the answer itself.” Lloyd
Dylan is a strong believer in the importance of working out problems independently rather than having the answer given to you. This is what his teaching strategy is based off. Ensuring students develop the ability to work autonomously, and gain the skills to find solutions.
Dylan is able to meet all your mathematical learning needs and build confidence in the subject by offering a curriculum that is best suited to the way that you learn. Dylan personalizes his education by using the interests of his students as the backbone of how the learning is
created and delivering each session. Each session will teach to develop the student’s strengths while minimising the students’ weaknesses.
Dylan displays great interpersonal skills and will ensure
that the student/family is kept up to date with everything that occurs with feedback from each session.
The curriculum that is delivered by Dylan is delivered with a combination of gathering knowledge from a variety of different, reliable sources, collaborating while going through examples relating to the chosen topic, working through a variety of different learning opportunities to create further understanding, completing homework in order to develop further and asking open-ended questions throughout, to gather an understanding of how conclusions are met.
References
1 https://www.edutopia.org/blog/what-makes-a-successful-tutor-seth-linden
2 https://www.positivityblog.com/quotes-on-education/
Tutor: Anastasiia S
Anastasiia S. is a qualified Secondary School Mathematics teacher. She completed a Bachelor of Science at University of Toronto, majoring in Mathematics and Masters of Teaching (Secondary Mathematics) at the University of New South Wales. Anastasiia has worked in high schools and several private learning centres, tutoring Mathematics from Year 1 all the way through to Year 12. She also has experience in tutoring mature-age students, TAFE students and pre-service teachers.
Anastasiia passed the LANTITE test in 2019, on her first attempt. She is well aware of the test structure and effective test taking strategies that help to improve student performance. The Initial Teaching Program can be intense and the limited number of attempts given to pre-service teachers to pass the LANTITE test can be a very frustrating experience. However, with the appropriate amount of preparation and support, every pre-service teacher has an ability to overcome this challenge. Anastasiia can help pre-service teachers to identify the areas of improvement and create a personal learning plan that will help them to fill in knowledge gaps, gain more confidence and get ready for the test. By teaching students from different age groups and cultural backgrounds and with different learning difficulties, Anastasiia acknowledges that every learner needs an individual approach tailored to his/her unique learning needs. In her lessons, she incorporates scaffolding strategies and differentiates the tasks so that they are feasible for each student. Such a customised learning is proved to be more effective and beneficial.
Tutor: Ali Mirsephai
Ali Mirsephai is a highly professional and enthusiastic teacher. He has over 15 years of solid experience in the development, delivery and evaluation of Mathematics, Engineering, Science and Technology courses to high school and undergraduate students from diverse cultural backgrounds.
Ali was awarded a PhD in Engineering from the School of Chemical Engineering, the University of Adelaide, in June 2016 and a Master in Chemical Engineering from the School of Chemical Engineering, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran, in 2006.
Ali has undertaken the roles of Lecturer, Instructor, Teacher and Teacher Assistance at several universities and university colleges in Australia, developing students’ foundational mathematics and engineering knowledge through stimulating interactive activities and adequate tutoring sessions. The courses he has taught include, but is not limited to, Specialist Mathematics and Maths Methods for Year 11-12, Mathematical Foundations, Multivariable Calculus and Discrete Math2, Chemical Engineering, Process Engineering, Process Modelling, Engineering Computing and HYSYS, among others. He also has experience delivering Foundation Program courses and tutoring sessions for students to be eligible to pursue their tertiary education in Engineering and Computer Science.
According to Ali’s teaching philosophy, he tailors his communication to ensure the smooth delivery of key messages given the students’ various disciplinary and cultural backgrounds. He is patient and listens to what students say. He makes use of both written and verbal communication and has the capacity to explain complicated academic concepts in an easily understandable manner. He is able to employ unique teaching strategies to effectively engage all students and foster a fun and engaging learning environment. As a result, his students report increased academic confidence and interest in their challenging courses.
Ali has a wealth of talent and enthusiasm in delivering courses using online technologies, remote laboratories and simulation software. He spends a lot of time investigating and developing innovative teaching methods either on-campus, offshore or online. He possesses the interpersonal skills to make a class lively rather than boring.
Throughout Ali’s teaching career, he has been committed to continuous improvement in teaching performance. He is currently studying for a Masters degree in Teaching (Mathematics and Science – Secondary) and Certificate IV in Training and Assessment from Central Queensland University. He is a member of the Queensland Association of Mathematics Teachers Inc. (QAMT). He passed his LANTITE Numeracy in November 2020 at his first attempt with extraordinary results.
Tutor: Madeleine (Maddy) Giuffre
Madeleine Giuffre is a very experienced and passionate teacher and tutor, who prides herself in supporting students in developing quality English Literacy skills that are easily translatable into any classroom setting. She has 13 years teaching experience, having completed her Bachelor of Education (Primary) from Deakin University in 2008, with a focus on children’s literature and linguistics.
Madeleine has a wealth of teaching experience and a passion for pre-service teachers, having had several pre-service teachers complete their teaching placements under her care and guidance. She has firsthand knowledge of what is required to be a ‘stand out’ teacher in a fast-paced, high-pressure teaching environment. She delights in seeing pre-service teachers succeed, assisting them to overcome challenges and helping them to develop long lasting understandings and strategies that will support them to make a positive contribution and become an excellent asset in any school setting.
Madeleine has worked within difficult settings alongside regional coaches, modelling lessons and supporting the transition and implementation of new and exciting programs across the areas of Literacy and Numeracy. She has spent the last decade running PLC’s in Mathematics in a school setting, assisting in the introduction of the school’s first ‘phonics’ Program (Write to Read) working with a team of over 12 classroom teachers, to support the consistent embedding and implementation of the program and its delivery within the Junior School.
Madeleine was most recently tasked with the development and roll out of the Middle School Mathematics Coaching Program, which was a government funded initiative to improve student outcomes for those students whose skill level in this area was notably affected by the recent pandemic.In addition to her teaching career, she also spent four years marking the ‘Writing’ component of the NAPLAN assessment for VCAA. Over this time, Madeleine’s invaluable experience dealing with assessment authorities means that she has gained an intimate understanding of the considerations that take place when formulating and marking these types of assessments. She uses this experience, combined with her extensive teaching knowledge, to coach her students to apply a measured and strategic approach to exam questions. This includes LANTITE Literacy coaching and tuition.
In her tutoring sessions. Madeleine supports her students to develop strategies that help ‘lift the veil’ on what is expected in different question scenarios and how to approach these systematically and effectively, to dramatically improve outcomes for her students, assisting them approach each question calmly and confidently. She has extensive experience working with students as young as five years of age, right through to tertiary level students and beyond. In addition to this, Madeleine has a detailed understanding of the Victorian Curriculum and AITSL standards, which informs her teaching. She delivers personalised tutoring programs designed to cater for a wide variety of skill levels and learning needs.
As well as examination preparation, she coaches people through addressing Key Selection Criteria, improving interview and verbal communication skills. Madeleine has clients who are teachers most new to the profession, and supports them to strengthen their knowledge and teaching skills across a wide variety of curriculum areas. She works collaboratively with the client, assisting them to develop their confidence in the classroom, with the ultimate goal of supporting them in delivering quality, sequential teaching sessions that can improve student engagement and outcomes and assist teachers to be confident and effective operators and collaborators within a school setting.
Madeleine is excited to support you through the achievement of your personal educational goals and watch you thrive through the next phase of your learning journey!
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