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Simon: North Aurora tutor
Certified Tutor
Hi my name is Simon. I study biochemistry at the University of Southern California.
Education & Certification
Bachelor of Science, Biochemistry
Test Scores
SAT Math: 780
Murong: North Aurora tutor
Certified Tutor
...I miss the student interactions from being a tutor during my high school and undergrad days, and I would like to give back to my community in what small way I can. I have a fundamental belief that with the right mindset, a good amount of effort, and the right support, all students can do...
Education & Certification
Bachelor of Science, Accounting
Test Scores
SAT Composite (1600 scale): 1490
SAT Math: 770
Michelle: North Aurora tutor
Certified Tutor
...a former lawyer, and current teacher and tutor, I take pride in cultivating critical and analytical reasoning skills to achieve academic success. It is not just about memorizing and regurgitating information. When a student learns how to approach problems logically, they do not just improve academically, but also learn how to solve problems in the...
Education & Certification
Bachelor in Arts, Political Science and Government
Juris Doctor, Legal Studies
Ben: North Aurora tutor
Certified Tutor
...portfolio manager, strategist and published author with a demonstrated history of working in the financial services industry. Skilled in Asset Management, Equities, Bonds, Investment Strategies, and Capital Markets. Strong finance professional with a MBA focused in Finance, General from University of Southern California - Marshall School of Business. Series 65, 7, 63, 24, CFA, FRM
Education & Certification
Bachelor of Economics, Economics
Masters in Business Administration, Economics
Malcolm: North Aurora tutor
Certified Tutor
...my mentors who have lifted me up and inspired me to work harder, learn from my failures, and believe in myself. I hope to be a guiding presence in the life of my students, helping them achieve their goals while developing their academic prowess. I earned my B.S in Molecular, Cell, Developmental Biology from the...
Education & Certification
Bachelor of Science, Cellular and Molecular Biology
Master of Science, Cellular and Molecular Biology
Tyler: North Aurora tutor
Certified Tutor
...from the Viterbi School of Engineering (ranked #10 in Best Engineering Schools by U.S. News & World Report) with a BS in Statistics & Systems Engineering in May 2017 and an MS in Data Science in May 2018. I am currently working as a Data Scientist at Clarivate Analytics where I construct automated machine learning...
Education & Certification
Bachelor of Science, Systems Engineering
Master of Science, Computer and Information Sciences, General
Tej: North Aurora tutor
Certified Tutor
I am an undergraduate student at the University of Southern California pursuing a double major in Computer Science and Business Administration. I have 4-5 years experience tutoring students of varying ages/levels and subjects.
Education & Certification
Bachelor of Science, Accounting and Computer Science
Test Scores
ACT Composite: 31
Baylor: North Aurora tutor
Certified Tutor
...am a freshman at the University of Southern California studying Business Administration. I'm from Kansas City (the Kansas side), and in my free time, I enjoy spending time with friends and family, exploring the LA area, and camping! Feel free to message me with any questions! I am super excited to get to know you...
Education & Certification
Bachelor of Science, Business Administration and Management
Test Scores
ACT Composite: 34
ACT English: 36
ACT Math: 34
Donald: North Aurora tutor
Certified Tutor
...Quantum Chemistry, Arieh Warshel, won the 2013 Nobel prize in Chemistry. I include these people in my statement to convey that I have been taught by some of the best scientific minds in history. All of these men had an astounding love and passion for their fields and they deeply inspired and very much intensified...
Education & Certification
Bachelor of Science, Chemistry
Doctor of Philosophy, Organic Chemistry
William: North Aurora tutor
Certified Tutor
Been involved with teaching for over 15 years. Been tutoring for over 20 years. Taught a Catholic school, a boarding school, a private school, and at community college. Have experience with wide range of students of different ability and background.
Education & Certification
Bachelor in Arts, Economics
Doctor of Philosophy, Economics
Sameeksha: North Aurora tutor
Certified Tutor
...as somewhat of a teacher, both in a professional and nonprofessional setting. I always find myself getting very eager to share my knowledge to my peers when they need it. It is truly a rewarding feeling seeing someone benefit from your help; tutoring almost reinforces and reminds me that all the hard work I've put...
Education & Certification
Bachelor of Science, Biomedical Engineering
Test Scores
ACT Math: 35
SAT Composite (1600 scale): 1430
SAT Math: 720
Quinn: North Aurora tutor
Certified Tutor
...University of Southern California. I am a computer science and business administration major and also have a minor in Chinese. I have a very strong background in math and science. I am also a strong test taker and can definitely help with standardized testing. Hit me up if you wanna get those grades or scores...
Education & Certification
Current Undergrad Student, Computer Science
Test Scores
ACT Composite: 35
ACT English: 35
ACT Math: 35
Dylan: North Aurora tutor
Certified Tutor
...to many students. Beyond my TA position, I possess tutoring experience across diverse educational levels and subjects, ranging from middle school English to ACT preparation and college-level microeconomics and general chemistry. When teaching others, I adhere to my personal learning philosophy, which prioritizes fundamental understanding over memorization or recognition. This approach has consistently yielded positive...
Education & Certification
Bachelor of Science, Business, General
Test Scores
ACT Composite: 34
ACT English: 36
ACT Math: 32
Billy: North Aurora tutor
Certified Tutor
...someone who benefited enormously from tutoring, I think it's important to pay that benefit forward, and I spent two years between undergrad and grad school tutoring high school English, writing, and history, as well as test prep for the PSAT, SAT, and ISEE/HSPT. As a tutor and writing teacher (as well as a student myself)...
Education & Certification
Bachelor in Arts, English
Master of Fine Arts, Creative Writing
Storm: North Aurora tutor
Certified Tutor
...California. I am a Fine Arts and Art History Major with a Minor in Political Science. My academic expertise is primarily in essay writing for Comparative English Literature as well as Art History. I would love to help you with building up fundamental essay writing skills for both expository and exploratory pieces. Open to help...
Education & Certification
Bachelor of Fine Arts, Art History, Criticism, and Conservation
Julia: North Aurora tutor
Certified Tutor
I am a native french speaker. I graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in Biology. I have worked in education for over 8 years.
Education & Certification
Bachelor in Arts, Human Biology
Dante: North Aurora tutor
Certified Tutor
...biochemistry. Over the years, I've developed several study habits that have helped me perform in classes and on standardized tests. In addition, I've developed a love for learning, particularly in disciplines of the natural sciences. Biology and chemistry have their reputations as very hard sciences, but I've learned to make it fun for myself. I...
Education & Certification
Bachelor of Science, Biochemistry
Test Scores
ACT Composite: 35
Nyra: North Aurora tutor
Certified Tutor
A globally-minded educator that has worked with an array of learners all over the world. I bring an innate ability to motivate students academically and personally. With extremely high research-based techniques in catapulting your life's goals into high gear.
Education & Certification
Bachelor in Business Administration, Business Administration and Management
Master of Arts Teaching, Elementary School Teaching
Andrew: North Aurora tutor
Certified Tutor
...schools (grades 7-9 in the U.S.). The subjects I teach are ESL/ELL (all ages), essay editing, general English, and writing. My teaching philosophy is to use as many links to one's own native language and culture as possible when teaching English. I enjoy travel, museums, and concerts mostly in my free time, and I do...
Education & Certification
Bachelor of Science, Business Administration and Management
William: North Aurora tutor
Certified Tutor
...York City. He is an alumnus of Columbia University Master of Fine Arts program for poetry and has taught students from kindergarten to the collegiate level. Billy believes that students should be taught ELA skills not just for their classes but for how those skills apply in their other classes and in life outside the...
Education & Certification
Bachelor in Arts, English
Master of Fine Arts, Creative Writing
Test Scores
GRE Verbal: 170
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Recent North Aurora Tutoring Session Notes
I used the student's past precalculus tests to prepare a set of problems targeting the types of questions that had previously challenged him. Specifically, we reviewed algebraic solutions to equations involving exponential and logarithmic transformations, as well as subtle domain restrictions (e.g., given f(x) = x^2 and g(x) = sqrt(x), f(g(x)) = x, but x must still be greater than or equal to 0 due to the restriction imposed by g(x)). We also derived the proof of the rotation transformation in 2-dimensions, in order to better understand how a hyperbola might be rotated around the origin. Given a rotated coordinate system XY and the "natural"ù coordinate system xy, this involves representing an XY function in terms of xy through algebraic substitution.
We also used his current chapter in AP Biology as a springboard for a discussion of memory and learning. I specifically asked him about his understanding of memory, and how he attempts to learn and remember the new material he reads. He said that he simply reads it and tries to remember what he read. I explained that there is a common misconception in our culture that memory is automatic or genetic or just sort of happens on its own, when memory is actually a skill that can be practiced and improved like any other. I then elaborated on ways to improve memory.
First, I mentioned the importance of appreciating hierarchy when trying to learn and remember new information. I explained this by pointing out that we will never make it through the simplest of short stories if we insist on understanding every detail of the mechanics of the car the main character drives, and the coffee he drinks, and the newspaper article he reads on page two. In other words, we are constantly attempting to understand big pictures without having enough time to understand the details of all the little pictures that form the big ones. Given this reality, we must learn general processes, i.e., the skeleton of a story, before we can really start to see how all of the little processes come together, even though we don't necessarily know exactly what the little processes are. This means that we must always come to understand complex material by passing over it many times, first taking in the most general relationships, and then slowly expanding our understanding of the details that connect those general relationships. Then we slowly expand our understanding of the details that connect the first set of details... etc... and it is through this process that we come to understand the deeper connections of dense material over time.
To put this concept a little differently: our general understanding of any relationship is always a necessary foundation for our detailed understanding of that relationship. In short, we must accept that reading the same material multiple times is often a necessary component of learning that material deeply. Only very simple subject matter can be comprehensively understood at first glance.
We also discussed the power of associative memory techniques. I mentioned that when learning new information, it is helpful to think of that information in many different ways, even using different senses. In other words, the linguistic, visual, aural, practical, and emotive nature of new information should always be given attention. This practice will create additional pathways to the same memory, thereby increasing the likelihood that we can find a way to recall that memory. Relating new information to our sense of personal identity is also one of the strongest ways to improve storage and recall.
I concluded by briefly mentioning Joshua Foer and his research on memory competitions. Foer interviewed many "memory athletes"ù and asked them how they perform such incredible feats of memory. He discovered that most of them do so through ancient memorization techniques which intentionally incorporate our spatial memory in the storage and retrieval of data. They almost universally claimed that they were not uniquely gifted and that they are utilizing a well-practiced skill in order to remember information as well as they do. Skeptical and eager to test the limits of these techniques, Joshua practiced aggressively for a year. After learning the technique, he returned to one such competition as a competitor instead of a journalist, and in 2006, he won the United States Memory Championship. I encouraged the student to look into Joshua Foer's story and the "memory palace"ù learning strategy.
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This was my first session, and we pretty much went straight to work. The student had a worksheet for homework that was over simplifying variables with exponents. The sheet was double-sided and progressed in difficulty. He slowly worked through the sheet, but finished with about 20 minutes left. I did give him a short break in the middle so he wouldn't be burned out. I made one last problem to do, which combined everything we had practiced. He got through the whole problem. Concept-wise, he got everything correct. He is taking three math courses currently to catch up with other classmates and be on the same grade-level. I talked to him about what subjects he does enjoy and some hobbies he has. Math used to be his favorite subject, but now due to difficulty, is his least, while literature switched from difficult to favorite. I told him I'd try to bring problems next time that were more relatable to the real world and hopefully more exciting.
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This evening, the student and I worked on a couple of word problems he procured from his classwork. It was a slow go in the beginning, as we took some time to figure out the best methods to answer each problem visually. He seemed a bit rushed and hasty in the beginning of the session. But once we tackled those problems and moved onto his homework, I noticed a pattern. He seemed to be getting tripped up on dealing with fractions. Namely, converting numerators after identifying the lowest common denominator. But with some practice exercises I wrote up for him and introducing a few drills to convert mixed numbers, he seemed to really take on an understanding of the processes. It was nice to see. He's a quick study, once he opens up about what his weaknesses are.
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The student got a 49/50 on her most recent algebra test on conics - phenomenal work on that! - and things are going well in the current subjects (exponentials/logarithms). She had some confusion on the current chemistry content, so we spent most of the class discussing that - light waves, light energy, the Bohr model of the atom/energy levels, spectra, electron configuration, etc. We went through all of her worksheets and by the end she was doing an excellent job of describing excited state configurations, and listing the ground configurations of elements from the periodic table. She asked some great deeper-learning questions about how electron configurations relate to valence shells and the "full valence desire" that atoms have.
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We reviewed an assigned review packet and reviewed a previous quiz to examine where the student lost points. He understands material, but tends to lose points due to little mistakes. We discussed slowing down and ways to double check in the middle of the problem.
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I really enjoyed working with the student! We went over what to expect with the PSAT and how it has changed over the last year. We also discussed strategies for the Reading and Writing/Language section of the PSAT. I have asked her to employ the strategies we discussed as she completes the Writing Section and the Reading Section of the Sample PSAT. We will go over the answers and discuss missed questions next time we meet (on Wednesday). I will also be sending her several resources to review (grammar resources and reading comprehension resources). Next week we will discuss strategies for the Mathematics section.
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