1 of 7

Connect with hundreds of tutors like Kerstin

Expert tutoring for students at all levels

150,000+ clients. 4.9 / 5.0 Rating of Tutoring Sessions

Who needs a tutor?
How soon do you need tutoring?
What is your name?
What is your zip code?
What is your email address?
What is your phone number?
Featured by
Tutors from
A photo of Kerstin, a tutor from University of Colorado Boulder

Kerstin

Certified Tutor

Call us today to connect with a top tutor
(888) 888-0446

I am a licensed elementary teacher. I have four years of experience in the classroom teaching second, third, and fifth grade, all subjects. I have a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction. Through these experiences I have developed skills and strategies that have led me to see great success with my students.

One of my greatest strengths is that I recognize each student as an individual with unique needs and diverse learning styles. I love helping kids discover which strategies work best for them. Another one of my strengths is making learning relevant and engaging. I work hard to make any subject or topic applicable to my students’ lives so they can see the importance of learning and are more interested.
My most rewarding moments as a teacher have been when a student has a breakthrough moment after struggling through a challenge. It is magical.

My primary goals as a tutor are to help students learn strategies and gain confidence so they can reach their full potential. I look forward to working with your child and helping him or her succeed.

Connect with a tutor like Kerstin

Kerstin’s Qualifications

Education & Certification

Undergraduate Degree: University of Colorado Boulder - Bachelors, Environmental Studies and Anthropology

Graduate Degree: University of Colorado Denver - Masters, Curriculum & Instruction: Pedagogy in Urban Education- Literacy Specialization

Hobbies

Hiking, rock climbing, dancing salsa, learning Spanish, reading, crafts, horseback riding, and relaxing with my pets

Tutoring Subjects

College English

Comparative Literature

Earth Science

Ecology

Elementary Math

Elementary School Math

English

Environmental Science

ESL/ELL

Gifted

High School English

Homework Support

HSPT Language Skills

HSPT Reading

HSPT Verbal

ISEE Prep

ISEE- Lower Level

Literature

Math

Other

Phonics

Reading

Science

Special Education

SSAT Prep

SSAT- Elementary Level

Study Skills

Study Skills and Organization

Summer

Test Prep

Writing

Q & A

What is your teaching philosophy?

"Education forms the foundation for building sustainable communities, and without education we cannot achieve sustainability" -The National Wildlife Federation I aspire to positively impact the global community through environmental and social justice. I see education as a way to achieve these goals. I teach to inspire the future stewards of the planet. However, working with students inspires me to remain a positive, passionate, life-long learner. Despite the differences in the schools and school communities where I have taught, one commonality is how children love learning about nature, and through this, gain a greater appreciation for their world. I have taught in the United States and abroad, and the schools couldn't have been more dissimilar in regards to socioeconomic factors. I joined Teach for America and worked in Colorado Springs, Colorado at a Title One school, where the large majority of students were from low-income households. In Colombia, I worked at an elite international private school that aspires to be the leading college preparatory institution in the country. All students are curious, capable, compassionate, and want to make their world a better place. My master's program in Pedagogy in Urban Education allowed me to explore and fortify my educational philosophy. I believe the purpose of education is to help students reach their full potential and, in doing so, work towards the betterment of society. I fulfill my philosophy by holding true to these core values: • Each student is an individual; a teacher needs to develop meaningful relationships with all learners to help them reach their full potential. It is my job to know each student's interests, learning styles, strengths, and areas for improvements so I can best help him or her succeed. • Community begins in the classroom. Respect and trust are vital. In my classroom, I combine trust and respect with high expectations for behavior and academic achievement, which has led to effective classroom management. In my class, each student feels confident and motivated, which allows them to collaborate effectively, creating a strong sense of community. This empowers me to act as a facilitator during student-driven, project-based learning. My favorite moments are when I see students' eyes light up when they have just made a discovery or worked through a rigorous challenge with their team. • Community extends beyond the classroom. Families, teachers, and other community members need to work collectively to promote the sense of community. I develop strong and meaningful relationships with my students' families by incorporating families' diverse backgrounds into lessons, and by inviting them into the classroom to share our learning experiences. My favorite moments with families are when I describe a child's success and the parents' eyes glow with pride. • Sustainability practices and values are essential for community. Students need to learn sustainable practices and values in a meaningful way. Working for diverse environmental organizations taught me the best practices of sustainable living. I deepened my understanding of sustainable education during my master's program research at UCD. I identified four guiding principles of sustainable education: hands-on interactions with local nature, discovering the connections of the world, community involvement, and student action to solve real problems. These principles need to be implemented in the classroom, but need to be considered with developmentally appropriate timing; the age of students is a factor. From these findings, I refined my teaching practices in an effort to truly prepare my students to make significant positive impacts as citizens of their community. • Dedication beyond the classroom is key to student success. After school programs are essential to developing well-rounded students. The lack of opportunities at my school in Colorado led a coworker and I to start Science Club. It provided a safe and engaging option for our students, while reinforcing science content. This inspired me to coordinate and host our school's first Science Night. These core values are the foundation of my classroom. They encourage student autonomy, motivation, and compassion for our community. In any educational community, I work to inspire the future environmental and social leaders of our world.

What might you do in a typical first session with a student?

During the first session I would definitely take a bit of time to get to know my student. One of my core values as a teacher is: each student is an individual. A teacher needs to develop meaningful relationships with all learners to help them reach their full potential. It is my job to know each student’s interests, learning styles, strengths, and areas for improvement so I can best help him or her succeed. To be an effective tutor I need to know a bit about my students. I work to weave in student's interests in activities so that the content is relevant and my students stay interested and motivated.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

Student autonomy has always been hugely important for me as a teacher and a tutor. I teach in a style that is student-centered, which is focused on the student making meaning, not the teacher providing the answers. I hold my students accountable for thinking through problems before I help or provide an answer. I encourage them to always justify their thinking. I hold my students to high expectations for organization, time management, and behavior. I also expect them to have a positive and perseverant attitude. Of course I support my students with strategies to develop these skills and help them persevere through challenges. Being autonomous is one of the biggest challenges, but it is so important to student success and happiness.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

When students are bored they do not learn well. I always work to make learning relevant and fun for my students. Of course this means knowing each student as an individual. After I know a student I work to create lessons and activities that draw upon their life experiences and interests to make learning more engaging. Motivation also comes from clear goals. I work with my students to help them set goals. Then we track their progress, which allows them to see tangible growth and boosts motivation.

If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?

One of my favorite moments as a teacher is watching a student's eyes light up after he or she has struggled with a concept, persevered through it, and finally has that "aha" moment. More often than not, students feel challenged and get stuck because of lack of confidence. I love getting to know my student's strengths and drawing upon them when we face challenges. When working through a challenge I ask a student to analyze what he or she is actually struggling with. That allows me to assess the student's understanding of the topic. Then I ask him or her to tell me what strategies they have tried, what worked well, and what is not quite working. This allows me to see what learning styles and methods work best for him or her. At this point a student might be able to think of a different way to approach the problem. If not, I will propose some different strategies. Then, we would practice a different but similar problem and I would see if the student is beginning to understand. We would repeat this in the session and in future sessions to make sure new learning strategies stick.

How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?

Reading is all about making meaning of text. Often students have trouble with comprehension and there are many reasons that comprehension can be affected. First of all, I would ask the student to read to me from a few types of text. I would ask the student questions before, during, and after to get a baseline of the student's reading strategies, areas of strength, and challenges. Depending on the age of the student a variety of questions to gain a deeper understanding of him/her as a reader. I would ask the student about his or her experience reading, what he/she finds easy, enjoys, finds difficult, and what feedback he/she often hears from teachers. Then I would ask the family to describe their child as a reader. All of this information will help me assess what area a student is struggling with. After understanding the student as a reader I would provide targeted practice to work on improving comprehension. This targeted practice could be for decoding & phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and of course comprehension strategies like predicting, making connections, summarizing, and asking questions.

Connect with a tutor like Kerstin