CV for Norman Wilson - March 2025
I graduated from Manchester University in economics, statistics, and psychology in 1976.
1976 to 1978: I moved to London to do a Post-Graduate teacher-training course. I also read widely on the subject of education, to improve my teaching over and above my
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7 customer reviews
Sonia
Tutoring
Efficient response and good explanation of the educational approach. Would be able to give more feedback after the first session.
Joseline
Maths Tutoring
Very good communication. Lesson delivery by the tutor was good. I would recommend.
DG
Tutoring
Tutoring weekly for 8 months for reading support. Was very helpful and showed improvement
Andrew Austen a
Tutoring
I had chess lessons with Norman Wilson , my chess grade improved and I was beating players who before my lessons would wipe the floor with me . Anyone who wants to improve playing chess I would recommend they contact Norman Wilson. More...
Andrew Austen
Tutoring
Norman Wilson is a very good teacher ,he taught me a lot and I would recommend him .
Karen court-chandler
Maths Tutoring
Very nice sounding man and made my daughter smile
Mel
Maths Tutoring
So far so good. My daughter is enjoying the lessons with Norman. She now understands
concepts that were difficult to her before.
English Language
I teach several courses which are designed to handle virtually any problem someone might have with English; everything from:
* Handwriting (normally for youngsters)
* How to hold the pen and form the letters (normally for youngsters)
* How to use a dictionary and the importance of this
* Grammar - various courses depending on age and requirements
* Dyslexia - I have a course where this can be tackled; the symptoms normally disappear, no matter what prognosis you may have received to
* How to study - a vital skill ignored in nearly every school in the land - these courses help solve virtually every problem anyone can have on the subject of study itself - of course, I also incorporate this into all my other courses.
I also have drills for anyone who is just having trouble learning - memorising understanding and applying data - and another drill to help non-native-English speakers to raise their level of literacy.
There isn't much I can't do in this area.
Maths
I teach maths from age 5 up to GCSE - I used to do up to 'A' level. My approach is based on understanding; other teachers may say the same thing but they are virtually always teaching an understanding of how to DO something. This is absolutely NOT enough. You also have to know what, say, a fraction IS - or division or a square root or any other mathematical concept. All this has to be effectively TAUGHT so it's properly understood.
Not having this understanding leads to specific mechanical problems, like getting sleepy while studying, or having the mind go blank - ever found you had lost track of what's happening when reading a book? It's the same cause. And hardly anyone knows that misunderstandings are always about the WORDS (or the symbols, especially in maths). So, of course VERY few people have any idea how to impart proper understanding and what they do doesn't stick very well.
Anyway I know about all this and the other barriers that can get in the way of learning (there are basically only two other barriers) and how to recognise, locate, and handle them and, most importantly, how to make sure they don't happen in my lessons, or handle them straight away, if they ever do.
For youngsters, I have a few other methods, like using Roman Numerals - a very basic, intuitive form of counting, so a good place to start - and Cuisenaire Rods.(You can ask Mr Google about these; he'll tell you,) These often produce very good results - sometimes they need to be combined.
When I've got the understanding of the basic concepts in maths handled - normally in the first lesson - the student is then set up to succeed and future lessons normally consist of going through a text book, but ensuring full understanding (and avoiding the other 'barriers') at every point.
It goes without saying that I get excellent results with my students; if you understand something and can apply it, then an exam is just something you do at the end. In fact another of the problems that can arise from misunderstood words is a nervous hysteria - hence 'exam nerves' or being worried about a particular subject.
I take exams myself, for my own studies, and the PASS mark is 95 or 97% and I do get these marks. If you really understand something, you really need an explanation for why you don't get 100%!
Chess
I have taught chess since my teens at school and played for Sheffield (adult) First Team and also at County Level and for Manchester University &c.
I load some standard chess software onto my laptop and then share the screen via Zoom. This enables me to show positions, go through different lines of play: anything you could do with with a face-to-face session, better, in fact, because you can go BACK to a previous position very quickly.
I don't normally teach just by playing a game or two with a student or analysing a Grand Master game but by breaking down the different aspects of the game of chess and studying each one individually and so thoroughly that this aspect can then be considered 'learned' and isn't likely to be forgotten, although it can be returned to later, to be improved on.
I have had and given a lot of pleasure over the years, teaching chess and virtually everyone reports an improvement - they can now beat someone they used to loose to (doing this to an older brother is always gratifying)!
Basically I'm a chess player and I'm an expert in how to teach.
