Minh
Certified Tutor
At a young age, I had been exposed to the benefits of tutoring. I seemed to work at a slower pace and have a harder time understanding concepts compared to my peers. However with a tutor I found that my pace quickened allowing me to catch up. Later on in my academic career I found through tutoring others I have developed a more in depth understanding of the material, which I desire to have. By tutoring others, I am able to pay it forward and help guide those who are having difficulty, like many have help guided me. My specialization and major is Chemistry. Chemistry is easily my favorite topic although I would not consider it "easy". Understanding key concepts and fundamentals will allow others to see the depth and the amazing things chemistry can show us.
I am grateful to all of those who tutored me in the past and I would like to pass it on by sharing what I have learned to others! I believe with hard work and dedication, success is inevitable.
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Undergraduate Degree: Texas A & M University-College Station - Bachelor in Arts, Chemistry
Bowling, Judo, and calligraphy
- Algebra
- Chemistry
- College Chemistry
- General Chemistry
- High School Chemistry
- IB Chemistry
- IB Chemistry HL
- Math
- Organic Chemistry
- Science
What is your teaching philosophy?
Success is inevitable with hard work.
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
I would gauge what their current level is as well as teaching style. I would also assess strengths and weaknesses in their studying techniques.
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
By showing the student techniques on studying as well as problem solving, I hope to teach the student skills required to be efficient in academics.
How would you help a student stay motivated?
Through encouragement and active learning, the student can go through problems with my guide so they can undergo the problem solving process.
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
The best way to explain a concept is with analogies and to break down the concept so it can become easier to digest. Usually difficult skills or concepts consist of smaller fundamental concepts, which is where the difficulty is sourced at.
How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?
By breaking down the prompt, the question and passage may become easier to understand once you know what is being asked.
What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?
Strategies such as allowing the student to independently solve the problem are most helpful. When the student becomes stuck, I am there to guide them in the right direction. Therefore, the student still solved majority of the problem but only needed a little help on the more difficult areas. This results in a deeper understanding of the problem vs a tutor simply working it out himself.
How would you help a student get excited/engaged with a subject that they are struggling in?
To get students excited, its best to show them that the material they are studying has applications in the real world. These applications have the utmost importance, and often can be intriguing to a young mind.
What techniques would you use to be sure that a student understands the material?
By letting them independently work out the problem and showing me the steps, I can double check to see if they understand it. Also I would quiz them on the spot to see if they can intuitively think about the concept in real time.
How do you build a student's confidence in a subject?
You build a student's confidence by first giving him problems he can solve easily, then some that he can solve, but with time, finally you challenge the student with problems where he knows most of the information, but there will be little pieces he must conceptually solve on his own. I would not give a student an impossible question, but rather give them problems that move up in difficulty.
How do you evaluate a student's needs?
I would evaluate where they are making the most mistakes and were they are lacking conceptually. I also would evaluate what easy, simple mistakes that can be corrected that they may be making.
How do you adapt your tutoring to the student's needs?
The pace the student goes will be the pace I teach at. If they are having a difficult time, I would slow down the topic to figure out where exactly they are having trouble. Whichever style works best for them, I will try my best to accommodate.
What types of materials do you typically use during a tutoring session?
Materials I would use would be pen, pencil, paper, and a calculator. If applicable I would bring my own textbooks and materials to reference.