Joe McCormack - Educational Expert

Joe McCormack - Educational Expert Secondary School Maths Teacher, Solopreneur, Author, Accredited Thought Leader in Education (AIBF).

Joe McCormack, an Irish educational expert and Secondary School teacher, has taught Mathematics, Geography, ICT, ECDL, Web Design, Technical Graphics, C.S.P.E, Woodwork, and Science in various Secondary schools and Education centre’s for the last twenty years. Joe has corrected Maths Exam papers for the Department of Education and Skills and has tutored both Maths and Geography in Ireland’s top sc

hool for tuition, the Dublin Academy of Education. Joe founded ‘ACE Maths Tuition‘ in 2019, where he provides expert support and guidance in small class environments for Junior and Leaving Certificate Maths students. These classes facilitate regular intake throughout the academic year both Online and in Ratoath. Joe authors and retails ‘ACE Maths Solution Books‘ as well as delivering seminars on a variety of topics in Secondary schools and Universities. Across all subjects, his expertise very much lies in ‘excelling in exams’, ‘efficient revision’ and ‘advising Maths students’. These form the themes for his 2017 publication ‘How to ACE the Leaving Certificate’ (for all subjects). He has had upwards of fifty articles published in both print and online press and currently runs a weekly educational blog for parents and students entitled ‘Joe’s Jotter‘. Joe has graduated with a Certificate in Career Coaching and a Diploma in Personal, Business and Executive Coaching with the Irish Lifecoach Institute (ILI). These qualifications are accredited by the International Coaching Federation (ICF). This has seen the emergence of the third strand of Joe’s business, ‘ACE Career Coaching‘, where coaching and advice sessions can be booked by all Secondary School Students and their Parents. Joe is accredited as a ‘Thought leader in Education and Career Development’ by the All-Ireland Business Foundation (AIBF) and received his award at a ceremony in Croke Park on September 12th 2019. Joe’s business was one of only three companies nominated for the ‘Local Enterprise Award’ at the Meath Business and Tourism Awards 2019. Joe has helped many students improve their confidence and grades in Maths over the years. Checkout the recommendations page of his website for Testimonial comments and videos from former students and their Parents.

How to remember ‘stuff’….As we enter Day 2 of the Exams. The brain should be flushing out the Info retained for Day 1 an...
04/06/2026

How to remember ‘stuff’….

As we enter Day 2 of the Exams. The brain should be flushing out the Info retained for Day 1 and have started taking in Day 2/3 material. This list will get your child through the next few days….

Joe's Jotter: Ten ACE Ways to help you remember ‘stuff’.

There are so many different ways to remember things. Have a sift through ten of my favourite types and see would any of them work for you before or during the exams.

1. Flashcards. Flashcards are great for summaries and giving you a snapshot of a certain topic at a glance. The fact they can be carried in your pocket gives them obvious advantages.

Flashcards were made for bullet point summaries, so try and take a mental picture of whats on each card.

2. Set you own tests or get a friend to help. Ask your friend to send you a list of possible questions on a topic. It will be certain that they will view topics from a slightly different viewpoint to you.

Someone else’s questions will focus your mind on remembering a slant you didn’t even consider.

3. Do something unusual while learning. Walk, run, jump on your bed, or introduce some kind of movement while trying to get an essay or a set of rules into your head.

This will automatically create an association between the topic and activity. Sitting at your desk isn’t going to work for everything. Be creative.

4. Work with a friend. Throw a dice for whose going to write out an essay or summary of a topic.

Share the summaries, teach it to each other and pay close attention to how your friend has gone about their learning and creating the piece of work.

5. Create your own Mind map. Invent your own diagram or table to store and summarise Information onto. Draw up the summary across a full A4 landscape page with large writing on it so that it is easily readable.

Work on recalling where certain Information is located on specific parts of each page. 6. Be the Teacher. If you have summarised content on a topic, pick a ‘victim’ in your house and teach it to them in all the ways that you know.

Let them ask questions at the end if they want. By the end of the lesson, you should know exactly how competent you are on this knowledge.

7. Use large sheets or a small whiteboard. Get your hands on either of the above if you can. With larger sheets, you will have more freedom to create a bubbles and arrows effect.

This is really useful where there are linkages between topics for a given subject. Examiners love links created inside and between subjects.

8. Test yourself. After learning some content, take a blank sheet of paper and write down every little thing you know about it. This is great practice for any upcoming exam, as this is effectively what we do in exam situations.

Re-creating this process will fine tune your memory recall skills.

9. Use your wall. Stick charts, summaries, diagrams, and facts on your wall. This has been used by millions of exam students over the years and is a great way of helping Information stick in your head.

Do not be afraid of trying a new way to learn a topic, even with only days before an exam.

10. Use Variety. Learn ‘stuff’ in as many different ways as you can. Summaries, bullets, postits, flashcards, audio, video, notes, etc.

This will give you a better chance of remembering it. Visual learners –You know what to do. Use Diagrams, Tables, Pictures, and Mind maps where you can. Joe *****

More details about Joe’s ACE Maths Tuition Classes for 5th and 6th year Students (September 2026), ACE Maths Assessments, and his Award winning ACE Maths Solution Books can be found via the link below. Be sure to pick up your copy today!

W: www.acesolutionbooks.com *****

Students, I think the best advice I can give you for tomorrow is ‘breathe’. Pray a close second. 😉🙏🤞. Good luck to every...
02/06/2026

Students, I think the best advice I can give you for tomorrow is ‘breathe’. Pray a close second. 😉🙏🤞. Good luck to everyone. J.

02/06/2026

Good morning…

Your Timetables for the next few weeks. Leaving Cert Established, Leaving Cert Applied and Junior Cycle 2026 Timetables....
01/06/2026

Your Timetables for the next few weeks. Leaving Cert Established, Leaving Cert Applied and Junior Cycle 2026 Timetables. Save to your phone. 🙏🤞. J

Fifteen Exam Hall Diamonds for All Students.As we get closer to exam time, it is always useful to get some tips for deal...
01/06/2026

Fifteen Exam Hall Diamonds for All Students.

As we get closer to exam time, it is always useful to get some tips for dealing with the exam hall itself and indeed writing the exam paper. I’ve spent plenty of time in exam halls myself accumulating great experience sitting Maths, ICT and Geography papers along with various educationally themed ones.

These are some of the techniques and shortcuts that worked for me during my study days. There is plenty of practical advice below and even if you only adopt four or five of these key points, reading them has been a worthwhile exercise. At this time of year, I try to pass these and many more tips to my own students and many of them have commented that they have found them useful:

♣ Lay out your answer book as clearly as possible being aware of your handwriting.

♣ If applicable, put a box around each answer to make it easier for the examiner to identify

♣ Never leave a question answerless. You can very easily gain marks for the most basic attempt.

♣ The method you use to answer a question is more important than the answer you arrive at.

♣ Double check how many marks each individual part of a question is worth on the day and give it the appropriate amount of time. When this time is up, move on to the next question part.

♣ Write down any formulas, acronyms, or key notes you have memorised the minute you sit down in the exam. In doing this, you can empty your head of content that can be used later.

♣ Start by briefly reading through the questions and make some notes on the paper of what jumps into your head in relation to the topics that you recognise.

♣ Keep re-reading a question if you are unsure about what is being asked. Surprisingly, a large percentage of students only read a question once and then tear into it. Some of these students end up answering a question they think is on the paper as opposed to the question that is actually written there. Be on your guard here as the examiners will have no sympathy for those you don’t address what’s being asked. Underline key words in the question to improve your focus.

♣ If the question requires a step-by-step approach, make sure to write every step down. This especially applies to subjects like Home Economics (S&S), Maths, Geography and Physics etc. This will ensure you get the majority of the marks for each question part even with minor mistakes.

♣ When answering questions in different subjects, be aware of how the marking works on each exam paper and tailor your answer appropriately. For example, Languages may be marked on structure, layout, content, and vocabulary; where in contrast, Maths will be marked on attempts and steps in the right direction etc.

♣ Draw diagrams where possible to make your point. If you are more of a visual learner, you will be good at enhancing your argument with diagrams. Make sure and label each diagram well and refer to it in your text paragraph. Your written explanation may not need to be as long due to the explanatory nature of the pictorial answer. You can still draw your graphs and diagrams in pencil if you prefer.

♣ Remember there is often more than one way to find an answer in certain subjects, so don’t be afraid to experiment and express yourself if you’re not fully sure what to do. Examiners love individuality and expression.

♣ Show all your workings within a question. Do not do rough work somewhere else in your answer book where the examiner may not understand its importance. Most exam papers now allow you to write the answer in a box or grid, so show all your workings there. Any work done in your head or on your calculator should be written down on your answerbook. If you are answering a question part on a different page of your answerbook, make sure and explain this with a clear signpost to the examiner.

♣ I would advise against the use of Tippex. If you wish to erase something, just put an ‘X’ through it, making sure it is still visible. Examiners must correct everything on the paper including information that has been crossed out, so this content could in fact be worth marks.

♣ When answering a question based on a graph, draw lines on the graph to show your readings. You could lose marks for just writing down the answer only. This applies to subjects where you are asked to draw a graph or analyse one that may be printed on the paper. Joe.
*****
More details about Joe’s ACE Maths Tuition classes for Junior Cycle and Leaving Certificate is below:

W: acesolutionbooks.com

Maths Exam Students,  Any 3rd or 6th Year in Ireland working on a Past Exam Question today (Saturday) and struggling to ...
30/05/2026

Maths Exam Students,

Any 3rd or 6th Year in Ireland working on a Past Exam Question today (Saturday) and struggling to get it out?

PM it over and I’ll send you back my detailed solution. 😀.

ACE is going Nationwide today. 🌞. Joe.

29/05/2026

6th Years — this is probably your most important Maths Class this year.☄️. Ph Joe on (086) 4076495

Wishing the 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th Years a great Summer!!! Looking forward to hearing how you got on in your end of year ...
29/05/2026

Wishing the 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th Years a great Summer!!! Looking forward to hearing how you got on in your end of year tests. 🤞

Thank you Parents as always for sharing my posts, supporting my page and booking in Maths classes. Loads more to come of course….Joe. 🙏🙂



Address

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Navan
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