Kelly: Bolingbrook tutor
Certified Tutor
I have over ten years of tutoring and teaching experience at the college and grade school levels. As a PhD Linguist, I have a solid understanding of phonetics, second language acquisition, and cross-linguistic differences. I am also experienced with training students for American standardized tests including the SAT, ACT and GRE. These tests require endurance and confidence as well as fundamental skills, which means that all these components have to be learned, practiced, and nurtured equally for a student to achieve a truly excellent score. At the Yale Autism Clinic, I have worked with special needs children on academic achievement. Additionally, I have worked as a homework helper for both low and high achieving students.
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Undergraduate Degree: New York University - Bachelors, Classics, Linguistics
Graduate Degree: Yale University - PHD, Linguistics
kayaking, reading, and murder mysteries
- ACT English
- ACT Reading
- ACT Writing
- Adult ESL/ELL
- Adult Literacy
- American Literature
- Basic Computer Literacy
- College Application Essays
- College English
- College Level American Literature
- English
- English Grammar and Syntax
- ESL/ELL
- Essay Editing
- High School English
- High School Level American Literature
- High School Writing
- Math
- Other
- Phonics
- Pre-Algebra
- PSAT Critical Reading
- PSAT Writing Skills
- Public Speaking
- REGENTS Prep
- SAT Prep
- SAT Reading
- Study Skills
- Study Skills and Organization
- Technology and Coding
- Test Prep
- TOEFL Prep
- Writing
What is your teaching philosophy?
I use a wide range of techniques to get students interested in the material and their futures. As a teacher, I try to be low-key and approachable to gain a student's trust and instill a desire to impress. Nevertheless, I am strict about homework and performance. I am experienced in tutoring younger students in all subject areas from math and science to reading and writing. I find it most satisfying to train people of all ages how to excel academically.
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
For me, the first session with a student includes taking a few minutes to meet each other, to find out about the student's needs, and the reasons behind those needs. I always include a short assessment, establish goals, and motivate the student with a few study tools to try out before our next session.
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
There are several tools, tips, and tricks to help a student become independent and an active learner. I slowly build up the student's tool kit, confidence, and motivation until they are ready to tackle academic challenges they never considered within their grasp.
How would you help a student stay motivated?
Motivation is the key to learning, but setbacks can easily derail a student's determination. I help my students stay motivated by informing them about the science of learning, reflective activities on what they did right so they don't focus only on a failure, and work through any difficulties until the student is confident in facing a similar problem or situation.
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
I like to use analogies with things the student enjoys to bring out an understanding of a difficult abstract skill or concept in order to make it more relevant to the student.