About Teach Learn Relax

about_me

My name is Joanna and I am a busy education professional, coach, mentor, trainer, external quality assurer and exam/materials writer; inspired when teaching, planning and delivering staff training, coaching and mentoring; willing to share resources and discoveries; based in London; in love with travelling, neuroscience, reading, plants & flowers, art and visual images, anything French or Danish, and wine. Always as a learner, reflecting as I go.

I have nearly 20 years of experience in teaching English (ESOL, EFL, ESL) and a bit of Polish, 10 years of experience in educational leadership and quality assurance. I am organised, creative and resourceful. I communicate effectively and invite my emotional intelligence to everyday conversations.

I know you are juggling a lot of tasks and it is not always easy and straightforward.

I am available to:

  • start an individual transformational coaching conversation with you, where you will explore your needs, make changes, set some personal development goals or assess your current context to be able to move forward,
  • support you as a mentor, inspire you and share some innovative ideas in relation to teaching, learning and assessment, whether you are an experienced teacher of starting your journey now,
  • help you prepare for your lesson observation or job interview,
  • share my experience and knowledge regarding teaching ESOL and vocational subjects,
  • arrange tailor-made training sessions for you and your colleagues,
  • deliver group coaching,
  • guide you through preparation for quality visits in your department,
  • write up-to-date, innovative and inspirational teaching and learning materials as well as exam papers.

Please email me for further details, prices or to arrange a discovery call before we continue our journey together.

Because being a teacher is a lifestyle! Because a relaxed teacher is a happier, healthier, better looking, more rested, empowered, energetic, creative and confident teacher. Because you love teaching, you want to develop and because I know you work very hard and you deserve time for yourself.

We will not let pupils, students, learners and parents interrupt us here, ready to join me in this passionate journey? Please say hello and follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. See you soon!

 

Feedback from my colleagues, mentees and coaching clients:

“I started believing in myself more and strengthened my career-related beliefs. The coaching sessions with you allowed me to look deeper into my potential and made me aware of what path I want to follow. I strongly recommend the sessions with you, I felt like having a coffee with a friend.” Ilona

“Joanna has helped me really be curious with myself and allow me to see my thought patterns and work on them with me. She is a great listener and really allows me to make my thoughts more coherent. I have definitely seen progress with myself and my self-awareness has improved drastically.” T

“I found Joanna to be highly professional and extremely creative in her approach to teaching as she simply thinks outside the box. She brings exciting new ideas to life and shares them in her teaching resources, CPD and teacher training sessions, her blog and her articles. She mostly inspired me with her approach to lesson preparation and designing bespoke materials to match the needs of particular student groups or individuals. Her lessons are beautifully structured to maximise the learning potential of the students, to encourage their independent learning and to give them a chance to develop not only language and employment skills but also various aspects of social behaviour. She made a big impact on her students and I witnessed how much they praised her for her efforts and dedication. Joanna has genuinely impressed me with her efficiency, attention to detail and commitment to finding new solutions both to the difficulties faced by her fellow teachers and challenges students encounter in their learning. I had a chance to observe her lessons and I was fascinated with how Joanna structures the lesson and builds skills gradually. I saw some thoroughly planned and engaging lessons where every student is challenged, every student makes a contribution and invariably makes progress. Joanna has a unique ability to create realistic, yet demanding lessons empowering the students with skills, experiences and a feeling of well-being. She is a great fan of interactive teaching, collaborative learning and blending different techniques of teaching or facilitating, in class and outside class.” Gosia

“I was mentored by Joanna Davidson-Hajto for almost a year, as part of my PGCE teaching placement. Joanna is quite possibly one of the kindest and supportive teachers I have been fortunate to have worked with. Her commitment and dedication to ensure I received the utmost support in the classroom, was reflected in her being nominated and winning an ‘outstanding’ mentor award from the University of Bolton. As well as providing FE guidance and overlooking my lesson planning and teaching, Joanna moved out of her way on many occasions, to teach me about various teaching methodologies and strategies: grammatical terminology; whole class (and independent) interactive teaching; collaborative learning, processes and purposes, and most importantly, the different forms and functions of language acquisition; all teaching and learning principles that she herself has mastered over the years in her teaching career. By producing a specific lesson plan template, Joanna ensured that I was aware of how to link one part of the lesson with another, so that learners knew overtly, what they were learning, and that this learning linked back to both the lesson objectives and learners’ own goals. Joanna is an outstanding teacher and mentor. My pupillage under Joanna ensured I achieved an overall distinction (a first) for both my teaching and theory. I also received excellent feedback in my teaching observation reports. This of course reflects Joanna’s commitment and passion to teaching; her adaptive leaderships skills, and her love of motivating learners to do their very best. Teaching is most certainly about educating the mind, but also, it is about educating the heart, by promoting kindness and mindfulness. Joanna has taught me a myriad of teaching mindsets, which I also hope to promote to my learners.” N.A.

“I had recently completed a CELTA course. Being in Joanna’s classes was highly informative and impressive, and hugely beneficial to me. I saw thoroughly well-planned engaging lessons. Joanna’s classroom manner is very engaging and direct, and every student is expected to contribute and to be challenged on their individual areas of need. She has very good relationships with her students, whilst keeping on top of their progress, homework, when and why they are late or absent, and all their various paperwork and circumstances. I can say I thoroughly enjoyed being in Joanna’s classes, the experience and interaction with students has been invaluable, and increased my confidence hugely. As I move forward to begin teaching English myself, I keep Joanna’s lessons in mind, and aspire to become a better English teacher myself in the future!” Mel

“Joanna has provided staff with various professional development training, all of which have been very clearly organised and informative. She gives staff a sense of security as she is so knowledgeable about the subject and having shared classes with Joanna, I know the students feel the same way about her.” L.C.