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Tenery: North Aurora tutor
Certified Tutor
...working one-on-one with my students. I was able to see the light bulb come on when a they "got it" and I could see their confidence growing. I love being a part of that process, which is why I became a teacher. I look forward to helping more students succeed in math, and maybe even...
Education & Certification
Bachelors, Mathematics Education
Rebecca: North Aurora tutor
Certified Tutor
...me a qualified tutor is not only my knowledge of math, but my ability to work with people. I enjoy socializing and believe that as a tutor it is vital to make students feel confident in their abilities. I think it is important to help students realize that they can do math problems, rather than...
Education & Certification
Bachelors, Civil Engineering
Austin: North Aurora tutor
Certified Tutor
...in the fields they are studying. I love helping people get to the "aha" moment when they really understand what's being taught. In my experience, one of the most important parts of tutoring is setting clear expectations at the beginning and working toward a common goal. Given the right goals and assistance, I truly believe...
Education & Certification
Current Undergrad, Computer Science: Bioinformatics
Test Scores
ACT Composite: 35
ACT English: 35
ACT Math: 36
Raul: North Aurora tutor
Certified Tutor
...help Spanish learners. During my undergraduate years, I taught Spanish to pay for school. I would tutor students who wanted a down to earth explanation of a Spanish grammatical concept or who simply wanted to practice conversation. I later became an approved court interpreter in Utah and worked on a few arraignments and one trial....
Education & Certification
Bachelors, History
Masters, Public Policy and Statistics
Jared: North Aurora tutor
Certified Tutor
...Business and Economics classes as well as SAT/ACT prep. I especially enjoy tutoring Economics because I enjoy the subject and a lot of times students just need to think about things a new way to understand it easily. My teaching philosophy is that the biggest key to learning is just getting in the right mindset....
Education & Certification
Current Undergrad, Finance
Test Scores
SAT Composite (1600 scale): 1510
SAT Math: 740
SAT Verbal: 790
Mike: North Aurora tutor
Certified Tutor
...am currently working towards a Bioengineering degree at the University of Utah. I've always loved math and I'm great at helping students make sense of new or difficult concepts. As a tutor, I am careful to make sure that students are able to do problems on their own, without relying too heavily on memorization. Outside...
Education & Certification
Bachelors, Business Management: Supply Chain Emphasis
John: North Aurora tutor
Certified Tutor
...different forms over the years. I have taught Advanced Wilderness Medicine techniques to physicians in the Netherlands, educated Kenyan villagers about proper self-care and hygiene, taught water polo as head coach of the local High School girls water polo team, and volunteered as a teacher's aid in local elementary schools. I enjoy working with all...
Education & Certification
Bachelors, Biophysics
Test Scores
ACT Composite: 33
Taylor: North Aurora tutor
Certified Tutor
...studying Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Management. I love understanding how everything works and that is one of my biggest motivators in school and learning in general. The subjects in which I am most proficient are Calculus, any type of Algebra and test-taking skills. I am also fluent in Spanish having spent two years...
Education & Certification
Current Undergrad, Mechanical Engineering
Test Scores
ACT Composite: 33
ACT Math: 35
ACT Reading: 36
Logan: North Aurora tutor
Certified Tutor
...my school and I decided that maybe I should pursue learning more Spanish. I continued to study in high school and then I served an LDS mission in southern Spain. While there I did my best to take advantage of the learning opportunity. Spain has Spanish speakers from central and south america in addition to...
Education & Certification
Current Undergrad, Health Promotion
Anna: North Aurora tutor
Certified Tutor
...have graduated from high school as valedictorian, I still look for opportunities to grow and help those around me. I am still finding new interests and building who I am. Right now I am currently studying at Brigham Young University with the high hopes and aspirations of being a business major. I enjoy being outdoors,...
Education & Certification
Bachelors, Pre-Business Managment
Jim: North Aurora tutor
Certified Tutor
...the challenge of learning a new language, even though they already learned one when they were just a baby! I've seen time and again how when languages are taught properly, learning them goes from intimidating to exciting and fun. If you're feeling challenged by French, I can give you the guidance you need to make...
Education & Certification
Bachelors, French Studies
Current Grad Student, French Linguistics
Test Scores
ACT English: 36
ACT Math: 33
ACT Reading: 35
Alexander: North Aurora tutor
Certified Tutor
...subject when I won the county ACS Chemistry award. This insight and ability propelled me through my undergraduate career. I completed my B.S. degree in Chemistry in April 2015 at Brigham Young University. I also tutored while in college, mainly in general and organic Chemistry, and learned more about how to teach these tough subjects...
Education & Certification
Bachelors, Chemistry
Francisco: North Aurora tutor
Certified Tutor
...I care about is having students who want to learn and get better. If you are really struggling with the material and want to improve your grades, I am here for you. I don't mind reviewing with you the material again and again, as long as you are committed to eventually learn it. If you...
Education & Certification
Bachelors, Economics
Mark: North Aurora tutor
Certified Tutor
...circumstances. Along the way I have developed a sincere interest in learning and helping others do the same! I'm excited to be a part of Varsity tutors and hope to be a great listener and resource for you as you grow throughout your own educational journey. I am originally from Salt Lake City, Utah but...
Education & Certification
Bachelors, Latin American Studies
Current Grad Student, Medicine
Austin: North Aurora tutor
Certified Tutor
...my goal to help students fulfill their potential and learn the skills they will need to succeed in their academic and vocational pursuits and become lifelong learners. I graduated from Brigham Young University in 2016 with a degree in Teaching Social Sciences. I enjoy tutoring in all subjects, but I particularly enjoy Writing, Spanish, and...
Education & Certification
Bachelors, Teaching Social Sciences
Matthew: North Aurora tutor
Certified Tutor
...someone you love, as well as helping them succeed in their endeavors to master whatever tests, subjects, or ideas they wish. I am a student at Brigham Young University, and am currently an undecided major. I have a passion for tutoring and helping my pupils succeed. I am charismatic, fun, hardworking, spontaneous, and reliable! I...
Education & Certification
Current Undergrad, Undecided
Test Scores
ACT Composite: 35
ACT English: 36
ACT Math: 35
Brendan: North Aurora tutor
Certified Tutor
...time, I had the opportunity to serve in a number of cities in southern and western Taiwan and speak constantly with native Chinese-speakers. I gained a love for the language, the food, the culture, and the people there so I decided to continue my studies as I returned to the United States. Since being home,...
Education & Certification
Current Undergrad, Sociology
Amelia: North Aurora tutor
Certified Tutor
...struggling with is the greatest reward for me. Ever since then I've gone on to work through a B.S. in Civil Engineering and currently am working toward a Master's Degree in Landscape Architecture. Through these experiences I've learned that gaining knowledge is a group effort with individual responsibility. I try my best to make sure...
Education & Certification
Current Undergrad, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Kjirsten: North Aurora tutor
Certified Tutor
...for Nebo School District, starting in the fall. I lived in the Dominican Republic as a church volunteer, and I am fluent in Spanish. I understand that students retain best what they do themselves. For this reason, my tutoring philosophy is to allow the student to go as far as he or she can alone...
Education & Certification
Bachelors, Communication Disorders
Test Scores
ACT Composite: 33
ACT English: 32
ACT Math: 32
Sierra: North Aurora tutor
Certified Tutor
...and a philosophy minor). I have taught students of all age levels in public, private, and one-on-one settings. Some of my past experiences include: peer-tutoring throughout high school and my undergraduate education, substitute teaching English, history, government, speech/debate, and drama in a secondary school, organizing and teaching acting and technical theatre at a performing arts...
Education & Certification
Bachelors, Political Science and Government
Masters, Performance Studies
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Recent North Aurora Tutoring Session Notes
I used the student's past precalculus tests to prepare a set of problems targeting the types of questions that had previously challenged him. Specifically, we reviewed algebraic solutions to equations involving exponential and logarithmic transformations, as well as subtle domain restrictions (e.g., given f(x) = x^2 and g(x) = sqrt(x), f(g(x)) = x, but x must still be greater than or equal to 0 due to the restriction imposed by g(x)). We also derived the proof of the rotation transformation in 2-dimensions, in order to better understand how a hyperbola might be rotated around the origin. Given a rotated coordinate system XY and the "natural"ù coordinate system xy, this involves representing an XY function in terms of xy through algebraic substitution.
We also used his current chapter in AP Biology as a springboard for a discussion of memory and learning. I specifically asked him about his understanding of memory, and how he attempts to learn and remember the new material he reads. He said that he simply reads it and tries to remember what he read. I explained that there is a common misconception in our culture that memory is automatic or genetic or just sort of happens on its own, when memory is actually a skill that can be practiced and improved like any other. I then elaborated on ways to improve memory.
First, I mentioned the importance of appreciating hierarchy when trying to learn and remember new information. I explained this by pointing out that we will never make it through the simplest of short stories if we insist on understanding every detail of the mechanics of the car the main character drives, and the coffee he drinks, and the newspaper article he reads on page two. In other words, we are constantly attempting to understand big pictures without having enough time to understand the details of all the little pictures that form the big ones. Given this reality, we must learn general processes, i.e., the skeleton of a story, before we can really start to see how all of the little processes come together, even though we don't necessarily know exactly what the little processes are. This means that we must always come to understand complex material by passing over it many times, first taking in the most general relationships, and then slowly expanding our understanding of the details that connect those general relationships. Then we slowly expand our understanding of the details that connect the first set of details... etc... and it is through this process that we come to understand the deeper connections of dense material over time.
To put this concept a little differently: our general understanding of any relationship is always a necessary foundation for our detailed understanding of that relationship. In short, we must accept that reading the same material multiple times is often a necessary component of learning that material deeply. Only very simple subject matter can be comprehensively understood at first glance.
We also discussed the power of associative memory techniques. I mentioned that when learning new information, it is helpful to think of that information in many different ways, even using different senses. In other words, the linguistic, visual, aural, practical, and emotive nature of new information should always be given attention. This practice will create additional pathways to the same memory, thereby increasing the likelihood that we can find a way to recall that memory. Relating new information to our sense of personal identity is also one of the strongest ways to improve storage and recall.
I concluded by briefly mentioning Joshua Foer and his research on memory competitions. Foer interviewed many "memory athletes"ù and asked them how they perform such incredible feats of memory. He discovered that most of them do so through ancient memorization techniques which intentionally incorporate our spatial memory in the storage and retrieval of data. They almost universally claimed that they were not uniquely gifted and that they are utilizing a well-practiced skill in order to remember information as well as they do. Skeptical and eager to test the limits of these techniques, Joshua practiced aggressively for a year. After learning the technique, he returned to one such competition as a competitor instead of a journalist, and in 2006, he won the United States Memory Championship. I encouraged the student to look into Joshua Foer's story and the "memory palace"ù learning strategy.
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This was my first session, and we pretty much went straight to work. The student had a worksheet for homework that was over simplifying variables with exponents. The sheet was double-sided and progressed in difficulty. He slowly worked through the sheet, but finished with about 20 minutes left. I did give him a short break in the middle so he wouldn't be burned out. I made one last problem to do, which combined everything we had practiced. He got through the whole problem. Concept-wise, he got everything correct. He is taking three math courses currently to catch up with other classmates and be on the same grade-level. I talked to him about what subjects he does enjoy and some hobbies he has. Math used to be his favorite subject, but now due to difficulty, is his least, while literature switched from difficult to favorite. I told him I'd try to bring problems next time that were more relatable to the real world and hopefully more exciting.
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This evening, the student and I worked on a couple of word problems he procured from his classwork. It was a slow go in the beginning, as we took some time to figure out the best methods to answer each problem visually. He seemed a bit rushed and hasty in the beginning of the session. But once we tackled those problems and moved onto his homework, I noticed a pattern. He seemed to be getting tripped up on dealing with fractions. Namely, converting numerators after identifying the lowest common denominator. But with some practice exercises I wrote up for him and introducing a few drills to convert mixed numbers, he seemed to really take on an understanding of the processes. It was nice to see. He's a quick study, once he opens up about what his weaknesses are.
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The student got a 49/50 on her most recent algebra test on conics - phenomenal work on that! - and things are going well in the current subjects (exponentials/logarithms). She had some confusion on the current chemistry content, so we spent most of the class discussing that - light waves, light energy, the Bohr model of the atom/energy levels, spectra, electron configuration, etc. We went through all of her worksheets and by the end she was doing an excellent job of describing excited state configurations, and listing the ground configurations of elements from the periodic table. She asked some great deeper-learning questions about how electron configurations relate to valence shells and the "full valence desire" that atoms have.
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We reviewed an assigned review packet and reviewed a previous quiz to examine where the student lost points. He understands material, but tends to lose points due to little mistakes. We discussed slowing down and ways to double check in the middle of the problem.
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I really enjoyed working with the student! We went over what to expect with the PSAT and how it has changed over the last year. We also discussed strategies for the Reading and Writing/Language section of the PSAT. I have asked her to employ the strategies we discussed as she completes the Writing Section and the Reading Section of the Sample PSAT. We will go over the answers and discuss missed questions next time we meet (on Wednesday). I will also be sending her several resources to review (grammar resources and reading comprehension resources). Next week we will discuss strategies for the Mathematics section.
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