Travis: Libertyville tutor
Certified Tutor
I have been tutoring for many years, beginning as a history tutor for college athletes at the University of Georgia. My BA and MA are in history and I have taught it as an adjunct professor at a 2-year college. I have also taught and tutored high school students in mathematics, primarily students with disabilities. I have a diverse tutoring background, both in content and age ranges.
I like to make learning relevant and relate it to the interests of the student in order to help with engagement. I encourage inquiry and discovery for students through promoting higher order thinking as well as practical applications of content. I believe students have the ability to master academic content once discovering the learning styles that best suit them and learning strategies that help lead to their success.
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Undergraduate Degree: Southern University-Baton Rouge - Bachelor in Arts, History
Graduate Degree: University of Georgia - Master of Arts, History
State Certified Teacher
I enjoy reading, watching movies, sports, and writing.
- Algebra
- Algebra 2
- AP US History
- College Level American History
- College World History
- Elementary Math
- Elementary School Math
- Elementary School Reading
- English
- Geometry
- High School Level American History
- High School World History
- History
- Learning Differences
- Math
- Middle School Math
- Reading
- Social Studies
- Special Education
- World History
What is your teaching philosophy?
Every student can learn; it is about meeting their needs and appealing to their learning styles.
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
Discuss with them/their parents what the problem areas are, their aims and expectations. Also, I would do some sort of diagnostic assessment.
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
Through gradually releasing them, and teaching skills to gain more agency as a student.
How would you help a student stay motivated?
By making instruction relevant and interesting to the person as an individual.
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
I would present it differently, perhaps appealing to a different learning style (i.e., auditory, visual, tactile, kinesthetic).
How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?
By using graphic organizers that aid with character analysis, identifying themes and main ideas, foreshadowing, and prediction.
What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?
I have found that repetition is successful, as well as making connections to related concepts to improve familiarity and analogy.
How would you help a student get excited/engaged with a subject that they are struggling in?
By connecting it to topics that are of high interest to them.
What techniques would you use to be sure that a student understands the material?
Formative and summative assessments.
How do you build a student's confidence in a subject?
By making a big deal of successes and maybe small incentives.
How do you evaluate a student's needs?
Through diagnostics and analyzing errors.
How do you adapt your tutoring to the student's needs?
By using data to highlight areas of need and avoid areas of competence if they don't need it.
What types of materials do you typically use during a tutoring session?
Study guides, worksheets, notes, calculators, maps.