
Cory
Certified Tutor
I am currently a student at Ohio University; there I am pursuing a Bachelors of Art in English with a concentration in Culture, Theory and Rhetoric. I am set to graduate in May 2016. Although English is a large part of my life, I also love singing and playing guitar, painting or drawing, and practicing Spanish!
I graduated from New Albany High School in 2011. While I was in high school, I met a few inspiring English teachers that really encouraged me to develop my passions and work hard to achieve my goals. I can really relate to a lot of students because I struggled in high school before I got help that put me on the right track.
After a short internship with the New Albany Elementary School, I learned that I loved to help students discover new concepts that they had never considered before. In fact, although I have little professional tutoring experience, I have always made an effort to help my fellow students that are struggling by editing papers, offering suggestions and new perspectives, reading through troubling texts together, and more.
I decided to tutor because I really love to help people achieve their goals. I want to guide each student in the right direction, urging them to think critically, and make sure that after every session, students can leave feeling confident in their work and with an understanding of the concepts we covered together.
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Undergraduate Degree: Ohio University-Main Campus - Current Undergrad, English with concentration in Cultures, Rhetoric, and Theory
I love reading fantasy and science fiction novels. I also enjoy writing my own stories and I hope to someday be a published author. I love music and you can often find me singing along while I play the guitar. Additionally, I spend a lot of time painting and drawing.
- College English
- College Essays
- Comparative Literature
- English
- English Grammar and Syntax
- Essay Editing
- High School English
- Literature
- Reading
- Writing
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
I would ask a few cursory questions that allow me to get to know the student and assess what their needs are. That way I can make them feel comfortable and help them to the best of my ability
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
By asking them questions that help them to think critically and assess a problem from multiple points of view. Eventually, they will start asking the right questions themselves.
How would you help a student stay motivated?
This is an issue that I struggled with in high school and, admittedly, that I occasionally still struggle with now. What I have found is that, by outlining a list of objectives, and by providing positive reinforcement each time one goal is completed, the task at hand feels much less intimidating, and students are motivated to complete their work.
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
I would ask them if they could explain to me what they do understand about the concept. If they say nothing, then I would try a different approach to help them understand. If they have a partial grasp, then I would identify the aspects that they do not understand and then, again, try a different approach to teach them.
How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?
I would give reading exercises that consist of a couple of pages with five or six paragraphs. I would have the student read slowly through each paragraph, highlighting aspects they might consider important. Then, at the end of each paragraph, the student would summarize the main points of the paragraph. Breaking up an assignment that might seem challenging into more manageable pieces often takes the stress off of students that struggle with comprehension. Also, they can go back through and pick out the points they considered most important, so summarizing becomes easier.