Larry: Toronto tutor
Certified Tutor
I can help! I live in Naples, Florida, and have a BS degree in Math and a Masters in Management.
I have recent experience as math tutor in West Virginia, and served on the Literacy Volunteers Eastern Panhandle (LVEP) Board of Directors in Berkeley County, WV. My teaching experience includes serving as a volunteer math tutor for the LVEP, teaching GED and SAT Prep math in Fairfax County, teaching life and economic skills to inmates as an Offender Aid and Restoration (OAR) volunteer in Fairfax County Jail systems, serving as a manager/mentor in the business world at Dennison Manufacturing, MITRE, and Noblis, working as a financial advisor at American Express Financial Advisors (now known as Ameriprise Financial); and teaching math (General Math, Algebra, Geometry) at Chicopee Comprehensive HS.
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Undergraduate Degree: University of Massachusetts Amherst - Bachelors, Math
Graduate Degree: American University - Masters, Management in Technological Organizations
Reading is #1. Exercise, beaches, walking in the woods, watching sports and playing where I still can play.
What is your teaching philosophy?
I have been tutoring Math regularly since I retired, and periodically prior to that. I am a good teacher because I very much want the person to be a success and am very happy when that happens. I can sense it when the student understands and, on the other end, I will know it when the student still does not get it. A key to learning Math is practice. Like most anything, the more you practice, the better you get, until it's getting easier and less intimidating, and then like magic, you know it.
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
Talk about goals. Learn where the student is in their math world. Develop a plan to go forward.
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
Show the student different resources on the web for learning and, more importantly, practice. Practice is the key. The more you can, practice the better you become, and the easier the math will seem to you.
How would you help a student stay motivated?
Success, encouragement and progress. It does not matter where the student starts but how the student progresses from that starting point, wherever it may be.
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
There are different ways to learn things. We could try a different approach, or we can always go back to basics and begin with a fresh piece of paper in front of us.
How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?
In Math word problems, break the problem into its parts and change it from text to math.
What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?
Listening is key. Find out where the student is and what their goals are. Set up a reasonable, doable plan. Set dates for completion a little ways out.
How would you help a student get excited/engaged with a subject that they are struggling in?
The more you, do the better you get, and the more motivated you are to do more.
What techniques would you use to be sure that a student understands the material?
Interactive teaching. Homework. Watching and listening as the student does a problem.