Thamara: Wood Dale tutor
Certified Tutor
I am a recent graduate of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, with a B.S. in Psychology and Medical Anthropology. I am currently work full-time as an Research Assistant for the NIH, focusing on Youth and Social Issues, at the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research. I am gearing up to continue graduate school and a career in public health and creative health prevention programming! I love teaching and tutoring students of all ages, as I am passionate about education and empowering others to become passionate and confident in their skills.
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Undergraduate Degree: University of Michigan-Ann Arbor - Bachelors, Medical Anthropolgy
Art, Yoga, Reading, Hiking
- 12th Grade Writing
- 9th Grade Writing
- ACT English
- ACT Writing
- Advanced Placement Prep
- Algebra
- AP Spanish Language & Culture
- AP U.S. Government & Politics
- AP United States History
- AP US History
- Conversational Spanish
- Elementary School Math
- English Grammar and Syntax
- Essay Editing
- Geometry
- High School English
- High School Writing
- Homework Support
- Languages
- Math
- Middle School Math
- Other
- Pre-Algebra
- Psychology
- Reading
- Social Sciences
- Spanish
- Spanish 1
- Spanish 2
- Statistics
- Study Skills
- Study Skills and Organization
- Summer
- Test Prep
- Writing
What is your teaching philosophy?
I prefer teaching at an individual level, working with the person's interests to inspire them and develop confidence in sticky subjects.
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
Get to know the student both academically and personally!
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
Practice, and application of concepts. Things take time, and I will be supporting the student every step of the way!
How would you help a student stay motivated?
Keeping sessions interactive, energetic, and switching things up with different styles of learning.
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
Break down the concept, and try to use familiar metaphors and analogies to help tie the concept into something the student is comfortable or can relate to.
How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?
Practice reading! I would start with going sentence by sentence and learning the basics in efforts to slowly build up to harder to comprehend writing. Reading takes time and patience, so I would definitely be encouraging.
What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?
I definitely try to get to know what they think their strengths and weaknesses are. I don't want to try tutoring in a way that the student hates, but rather in ways that the student enjoys.
How would you help a student get excited/engaged with a subject that they are struggling in?
Fun and creative application-based exercises! I like to relate concepts to "real world" scenarios or something meaningful to the student. I am a creative person, and love to try new styles of learning.
What techniques would you use to be sure that a student understands the material?
Definitely applying concepts and quizzing the student, giving the student practice questions or scenarios, and going over things that students get wrong.
How do you build a student's confidence in a subject?
Encouragement and showing that I truly care. I want to be able to connect with them, laugh with them, and learn with them.
How do you evaluate a student's needs?
I first like them to talk about their interests, perceived strengths and weaknesses, and what they want based on their learning styles.
What types of materials do you typically use during a tutoring session?
A combination of the student's notes, online material, activities I have created, and much more!
How do you adapt your tutoring to the student's needs?
I make sure to ask them what type of learning activities they prefer.