Award-Winning Chemistry Tutors in Algonquin, IL

...be you or your child's tutor! I have been tutoring for 5 years with both Upward Bound and Help Yourself, state and national programs. I have excelled and worked with students from 1st grade through high school and even some college students. I have not only had tutees of mine pass desired classes, but I...

...Nicholas, and I have a passion for education and learning. To me, education is not simply an act of personal betterment, but one of societal improvement and sustainability. Education, from science to math, english to history, allows us to have new lenses through which to see our world. Mastering content gives us a cognitive framework...

Growing up on the sandy Jersey Shore, I moved to the chilly Midwest to attend the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and earn a degree in Electrical Engineering. After graduation, I moved to Chicago and worked...

...material not only makes for a challenge but also a sense of accomplishment. I take the approach that most material that is perceived as difficult is only viewed that way due to the way the material is presented. I tend to break concepts down using common language and parallel those concepts with information that is...

...a degree in Human Biology on a pre-dental path at the University of Toronto. Starting in high school, I began teaching when I became a swim instructor during sophomore year and discovered that I love teaching students. I enjoy seeing my students improve and achieve new goals as I work with them. Moving away from...

I have prior experience working as a tutor, both formally and informally. Formally, I was a math tutor for a local private company, and informally, I helped many of my friends through their studies while in high school and university.

...a Master's Degree in Environmental Engineering, and have helped many undergraduate students succeed in rigorous math and science-based courses. I tailor each session to the student's needs and focus on a multi-faceted approach to explaining abstract concepts. Connecting topics to the real world is what has made engineering fun for me, and I hope to...

Teaching is my passion. As a teacher with 7+ years experience teaching chemistry labs ranging from physical, analytical, and general chemistry at the undergrad level and a full year teaching chemistry at the high school level, I have a vast amount of experience from which to draw upon. My...... Effective teaching is a difficult goal to achieve. When thinking of thinking, many people may think of classroom lectures, instructors doling out facts and figures, and students memorizing and regurgitating. However, I think that a more effective teaching strategy comes from an effort to help students develop new ways of thinking and new learning processes, while still capitalizing on methods that are familiar to them. In addition, teaching should not be exclusive to the domain of academics. Undergraduates and high school students, in particular, can benefit from learning life skills such as time management and critical thinking. Being a teacher requires a balance of professionalism and approachability, which can ultimately culminate in a positive experience for both the instructor and student. As a general chemistry laboratory instructor, my previous position required me to balance hands-on instruction with short lectures indicating background material. I have found that keeping the lectures short allowed students the opportunity to experience concepts first-hand, and helped them retain the information more effectively. Chemistry is a daunting subject for many students, and it is my goal to bring about their excitement by example. In addition to teaching them course material, I also mention real-world examples of chemistry in action, and give descriptions of my daily life as a research graduate student, when appropriate. This gave my students a firm grasp on what it means to do research in science, and what it means to discover something new and exciting. One of my main goals as a chemistry instructor is to teach students critical thinking skills. This is often a new experience for many students, as they are required to look at a single set of data from many different perspectives. "What could be causing this change? How could we make this experiment better?" These are the type of questions that I hope my students will eventually learn to ask on their own. I typically employ the method of answering their questions with another question in order to highlight important ideas or mistakes that a student may have made. This way, students are actually able to answer their own questions, which helps them become more confident in their abilities. I have found that this is much more effective than simply giving a direct answer because it assists the students in developing their critical thinking skills and helps them remember concepts more concretely since they came to the conclusion on their own. By slowly taking them through the process of critical thinking one step at a time, my aim is to help them learn chemical concepts as well as to develop analytical thinking skills. My goal is that they will eventually learn this questioning method and be able to employ it on their own. The critical thinking skills I teach in chemistry are directly applicable to everyday life. Most people consider it a purely academic endeavor, but it can be applied to a wide range of topics such as science, literature, music, and philosophy. I personally find it very important to help students realize that they can apply critical thinking and other skills to their personal life. Many undergraduate students are on their own for the first time, and are in the process of discovering and developing their personalities. At both St. Joseph High School and Florida International University, I had the opportunity to interact with a uniquely diverse student body representing a range of personalities. Their interests, beliefs, and behaviors can all be examined during the college years. Teachers often consider their jobs to be purely academic, but I think it is important to remember that some students are searching for new ideas and experiences. As a teacher, I want to nurture their search for new ideas so that they may develop as individuals both academically and personally. The desire to help students improve in two different ways requires a balance of professionalism and relatability. I approach this problem by being fun during class lectures but still imparting the course knowledge. I usually relate chemical concepts to everyday experiences or create a fictional short story to describe to students. This makes the students feel like I am approachable, but still knowledgeable. I believe that the stoic lectures of professors past need to be altered; a positive and fun learning atmosphere can be enjoyed regardless of the topic. Integration of innovative technological techniques is at the forefront of this revolution. To this end, I integrated interactive applications such as Classcraft and Kahoot, which encouraged student involvement. In an effort to improve my teaching abilities, I earned the Teaching Assistant Certification from FIU's Center for the Advancement of Teaching. Throughout my experience in this program, I have been able to identify some of my strengths and weaknesses as an instructor. I have been able to use this experience to incorporate daily quizzes into general chemistry laboratory curriculum as an effort to help students better prepare for labs. I also assisted in bringing new technology to the classroom by being one of the pilot instructors for the SPARK data acquisition system, which is now in full use in all of FIU's general chemistry laboratory sections. Current studies on teaching pedagogy are clear that simple lectures do not impart as much educational value as group work, writing exercises, and other interactive methods. It is important to remember that even teachers have to learn and that there is always potential for growth. While I have presented part of my teaching philosophy here, I am constantly in the process of examining and changing it. Every class has a unique set of individuals with challenges and talents. In order to teach, I must be flexible and willing to try new methods. My overall goal is to create a fun atmosphere where students' learning is a priority, and where they can feel comfortable asking questions. I want my students to develop critical thinking skills and to understand that they can apply to more than just scientific concepts. My goal is to help students learn chemistry while learning about themselves in the process.

...University in May 2015. During my attendance there I majored in biological sciences and worked in both their macro and micro-biology labs, the latter of which I have a published paper for my work. While at Marquette I also tutored. I think it is extremely important for tutors to be able to help their students...

...with a graduate degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where I have taught math and science courses for 1.5 years. I also have several years of private tutoring experience, teaching various levels of math and science from elementary school through college. Teaching is my passion, not only because I enjoy doing it, but also since...