Kelie
Certified Tutor
I received a B.S. in Forensic Science, with minors in Chemistry, Italian, and Biostatistics from Loyola University Chicago, and an M.S. in Forensic Entomology from Purdue University. I am currently a PhD student at the University of Idaho studying agricultural entomology and insect-vectored plant diseases. I spent several years tutoring high school and college students in Chicago. As a tutor at my university, I held small group tutoring sessions as well as open study halls. I spent some time as a private tutor for Chicago high school students, and I was a math tutor at a local Chicago high school. As a master's student and teaching assistant, I taught large forensic science lectures and smaller lab sections to university students. I've been tutoring with Varsity Tutors since 2015. I tutor a variety of math and sciences, as well as some languages, though my favorite subject to tutor by far is chemistry.
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Undergraduate Degree: Loyola University-Chicago - Bachelor of Science, Forensic Science
- SAT Composite (1600 scale): 1430
- SAT Math: 700
Reading, insect collecting, running, board games, hiking, backpacking, snowboarding, crocheting
- 10th Grade
- 10th Grade Math
- 11th Grade
- 11th Grade Math
- 12th Grade
- 12th Grade Math
- 1st Grade
- 1st Grade Math
- 2nd Grade
- 2nd Grade Math
- 3rd Grade
- 3rd Grade Math
- 3rd Grade Science
- 4th Grade Math
- 4th Grade Science
- 5th Grade Math
- 8th Grade Math
- 8th Grade Science
- 9th Grade
- 9th Grade Math
- Algebra
- Algebra 2
- Analytical Chemistry
- AP Chemistry
- AP Italian Language and Culture
- AP Statistics
- Arithmetic
- Biology
- Biostatistics
- College Algebra
- College Biology
- College Chemistry
- College Physics
- Conversational Italian
- Earth Science
- Ecology
- Elementary Algebra
- Elementary Math
- Elementary School
- Elementary School Math
- Elementary School Science
- Entomology
- GED Prep
- GED Science
- General Biology
- General Chemistry
- Geometry
- Graduate Test Prep
- GRE Subject Test in Chemistry
- GRE Subject Tests
- High School
- High School Biology
- High School Chemistry
- Homeschool
- IB Biology
- IB Biology HL
- IB Biology SL
- IB Chemistry
- IB Chemistry HL
- IB Chemistry SL
- IB Mathematical Studies SL
- IB Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches
- IB Mathematics: Applications and Interpretation
- IB Physics
- IB Physics HL
- IB Physics SL
- Italian
- Latin 1
- Latin 2
- Math
- Microsoft Office
- Middle School
- Middle School Math
- Middle School Science
- Other
- Physical Science
- Physics
- Pre-Algebra
- Science
- Statistics
- Summer
- Technology and Coding
- Test Prep
- Virology
What techniques would you use to be sure that a student understands the material?
I've found that one of the best ways to gauge how well you understand a concept is to try to teach it to someone else. I like to use practice problems and have the student explain to me the concepts they're using as they go through the problem. If they're unsure of what they're doing, it becomes clear pretty quickly.
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
I think that it's important to get to know a student's learning style as soon as possible. Are you a visual or auditory learner? Do you find that you benefit more from hands-on work or detailed breakdowns? Knowing this, I can adjust my teaching style accordingly. I also like to have the student try a few practice problems, so we're both aware of what his/her strong and weak points are, and we can better focus our time from that point forward.