Anna: Medford tutor

Certified Tutor

I am a graduate of the University of Dubuque and Western Governors University. At the University of Dubuque I received my Bachelors of Science in All Science in Secondary Education, Biology in Secondary Education, and Biology. At Western Governors University I received my Master of Arts in Science Education (Secondary Biological Science). My experience working with students is from my time teaching high school students (4 years) and online college students (1 year). The subjects I taught for high school included biology, earth science, physics, and chemistry. I tutor the courses mentioned above and include the physical science course and other life science courses students may encounter in high school. My favorite subject to tutor is Biology. Biology as a whole has been my passion before I even decided to be a teacher. I loved the world of Biology and all of its little branches. I take time outside of my work to delve into studies and new topics in the field. When working on my undergraduate degree, I was placed in positions where students in class were teaching each other as part of our learning. This is what brought me to become a teacher. The joy of sharing my knowledge and passion with the subject to students and seeing them shine in their own bright ways. Science can be a difficult subject for some, but there are always ways to find understanding. It is another piece to the puzzle when working with students Finding out the ways in which they learn best and using that to guide them to success in their educational career, which of course has overlapping concepts with life outside of education. This leads into my teaching philosophy which brings in portions of the theories developed by psychologist Lev Vygostky. The major ideas from Vygostky I take into my teaching are Scaffolding and the Zone of Proximal Development. Scaffolding is building up a student's knowledge and skill in chunks that best fit the needs of the students and the Zone of Proximal Development is working with the idea of bringing students to the edge of what they know but are capable of learning without bringing them to a place where they feel too overwhelmed. Combining these two while working with students to understand their needs at their level, I work to find the best balance of learning and teaching between me and my students.