Nadja: Central City tutor
Certified Tutor
I worked briefly at ArtNEWS before being hired in the Editorial and Publishing department of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. During my four years there writing educational content for their website, editing, managing the internship program in the department and supporting marketing, I supplemented my time working in educational positions. I taught weekend history courses to high school students for the New York Historical Society, co-taught AP Art History at a private high school, and did gallery storytelling for children for the Met.
I currently hold a BA in Art History, MA in Art History from University of Chicago, MA in Education from University of London.
I moved to London in 2014 so that I could move more completely into the educational field, and started a year-long Masters in Museum Education with an emphasis in teaching the humanities. While in school, I taught in many museums in London from the Benjamin Franklin House, to the Courtauld, the Wallace Collection, to the Dulwich Picture Gallery. I also travelled extensively in Europe and Northern Africa which gave me a much richer connection to the history, literature, arts, and geography of this part of the world. After graduation, I stayed on in London tutoring history. I recently returned to NYC to work in museums here and to work with individual students, hoping to entice in them the great love of the humanities that I was exposed to by great tutors, courses, and travels.
I wanted to work for Enjoy Education tutoring agency in London, after completing my second MA, to make additional money but also because I had just gained a degree in Education, it was a fantastic opportunity for me to practically apply pedagogical theory to my already strong interest in the subject matters and natural passion for teaching. I had a wonderful outcome with both students and was yet again reminded that you learn the most about a subject through teaching it, even areas you already have a strong competence and knowledge in.
I work a lot through interdisciplinary methods, visual learning and storytelling, and try as much as I can to incorporate other senses and games into the learning process where appropriate.
I have great fun teaching and sharing my testing tips, knowledge, hard-won writing and reading skills and that is ultimately, more than anything else, what makes me a good teacher.
Connect with a tutor like Nadja
Undergraduate Degree: BA - Bachelor in Arts, Art History
Graduate Degree: University of Chicago - Master of Arts, Art History/Humanities
history, writing, languages
- Art History
- College English
- College Essays
- College Geography
- College Level American History
- Elementary Math
- Elementary School Math
- English
- Essay Editing
- European History
- Geography
- Gifted
- High School English
- High School Geography
- High School Level American History
- History
- Math
- PSAT Writing Skills
- Public Speaking
- SAT Reading
- SAT Subject Test in Literature
- SAT Subject Test in United States History
- SAT Subject Test in World History
- SAT Subject Tests Prep
- SAT Writing and Language
- Social Studies
- Study Skills and Organization
- Summer
- Test Prep
- Writing
What is your teaching philosophy?
I have seen wonderful subjects drained dry by monotonous and lackluster teaching. My philosophy is to only teach subjects you have a passion for and you enjoy sharing with others. I think bringing in visuals, primary sources, anecdotes, contextual contemporary sources and arts, interdisciplinary overlaps, and clearly defined timelines helps build a richer anchor for work in the humanities. I love to break down ideas and language together and explore underlying assumptions and nuances that will help students have a more complex engagement with a subject and more to refer to in testing.
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
I would gauge their knowledge level, attention span, strengths, weaknesses, and learning style through trying out slightly different approaches and seeing what they responded to. I would do an overview of what we will be working on and firmly contextualize it.
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
Encouraging students not to be nervous-- to slow down, look up things they don't know, look closer, and relax is a useful start for independent learning.
How would you help a student stay motivated?
I think short quizzes in the midst of a lesson help them stay on their toes and make sure they are listening and following. Incorporating games and music, art, and literature into lessons helps connect them to something that they can enjoy, even if the subject is not their favorite.
How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?
A big part of this is just nerves. Helping them realize they should slow down, breaking down paragraphs for their purpose and meaning along the way, and constantly refer to each paragraph's purpose within the larger work can start to clarify it.
What techniques would you use to be sure that a student understands the material?
Quizzes, games, and asking them to continually explain things back to me and give me examples are extremely effective techniques.
How do you build a student's confidence in a subject?
Scaffolding questions so that they can get some right at the beginning as they build into harder ones helps them start off with a boost of confidence.
What types of materials do you typically use during a tutoring session?
I always bring my laptop so I can quickly pull up a picture, video, map, graphic, etc.