Certified Tutors From South Carolina State University

We spent our session reviewing restricted solutions to sinusoidal equations, exponential vs. power graphs and logarithmic expressions. The student and I were able to revisit some problems from our last session which we were not able to prove algebraically. During this session, we were able to apply the mechanics correctly and gain comfort in dealing with these types of problems. We spent the second half of our session looking through current material and looking forward at future lessons (logarithmic expressions). She seems to be doing very well in her current class, getting excellent quiz scores.

We reviewed algebra and ratios. We also began working on the formula for finding the distance between two points on a coordinate plane. We did several such problems together, and I assigned two others for homework. Finally, we continued working on prepositions.

The student has a text tomorrow and wanted to review anything he was unsure of. We went over problems in function composition, systems of equations, and reading tables of nested values. He picked up solutions quickly and gained confidence in his ability to evaluate the equations during our session. I recommend that he practice as much as he can before the test tomorrow and that he can always text me to ask about any problem he's having if he needs some guidance.

We covered strategies for approaching reading comprehension questions. We also went through several text completion questions and discussed strategies for narrowing down answer choices. The student struggled the unfamiliar vocabulary in text completion questions. She had a positive attitude towards the material reviewed. I included strategies for taking notes on and answering questions about reading comprehension passages as well as strategies for answering text completion questions. I left her with 2/3 of a diagnostic verbal test to complete.

We started this session by reviewing the student's homework assignment on reading comprehension. The assignment was taken from a SAT test prep book so the material was more challenging, however, she did an excellent job and only missed one question. She used the techniques that we practiced (underlining and paraphrasing) which was good. Next, she worked through the verbal section of an placement exam practice test. Her pacing was quick on all the sections. However, on the scrambled paragraph section she did not use the strategies that we had practiced (circling structure/ transition words). With more practice (and reminders), these strategies will become second-nature.

The student has started the forces (dynamics) unit, so I shared some tips about solving force problems. Then we worked through some conceptual problems that required an essay answer, and I explained the Claim-Evidence-Reasoning format for writing the essays. He worked through several more problems on his homework, and he picked up the concepts very well.