Matthew: Downey tutor
Certified Tutor
I hold a B.S. in Economics and Finance from Florida State University and am currently a law student at Emory University. I have experience tutoring as well as editing essays for college admission, standardized tests, and scholarships. I look forward to leveraging this experience to help students achieve their full potential.
Outside of tutoring, I love to travel. I have visited several countries in South America and studied abroad in the United Kingdom as part of the Fulbright Scotland Summer Institute.
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Undergraduate Degree: Florida State University - Bachelors, Double: Economics and Finance
Graduate Degree: Emory University - Current Grad Student, Pursuing Juris Doctor
- ACT English: 33
- ACT Reading: 33
Travel, running, reading
- ACT English
- ACT Writing
- Algebra
- AP Economics
- AP Macroeconomics
- Business
- College Business
- College Economics
- College English
- College Essays
- Economics
- English
- Essay Editing
- Finance
- Financial Accounting
- High School Business
- High School Economics
- High School English
- Macroeconomics
- Managerial Accounting
- Math
- Microeconomics
- Other
- Pre-Algebra
- SAT Reading
- SAT Writing and Language
- Summer
- Test Prep
- Writing
What is your teaching philosophy?
Practice makes perfect.
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
Assess a student's mastery of the material and collaboratively develop goals for our tutoring relationship. If this can be done before the first session, then we can jump right into tutoring.
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
I foster independence through providing students with strategies rather than answers.
How would you help a student stay motivated?
I believe in the power of positive reinforcement. I give verbal affirmations of a student's progress or success as often as possible.
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
If a student does not respond to a particular teaching method, then I shift perspectives, collaborating with the student to select the most appropriate strategy.
How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?
I encourage students to verbalize their thought process when taking a practice reading comprehension assessment, in order to identify lapses in understanding. I then reinforce effective thought processes, discourage those which may be ineffective, and provide strategies, if appropriate.
What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?
Practice, practice, practice. Once we have developed an effective strategy, implementing the strategy through practice assessments is a sure-fire way to increase test scores.
How would you help a student get excited/engaged with a subject that they are struggling in?
I always try to align myself with the student in order to tailor my tutoring style to their preferences and interests. I have found that keeping sessions lighthearted, while still productive, keeps students engaged.
What techniques would you use to be sure that a student understands the material?
Ideally, understanding would be monitored through practice assessments administered in between sessions. If this is impossible, practice assessments could be administered during sessions.
How do you build a student's confidence in a subject?
Affirmations of progress and accomplishments are key.
How do you evaluate a student's needs?
I evaluate a student's needs through collaborating with the student on learning objectives. Ideally, practice assessments would also assist with identifying student needs.
How do you adapt your tutoring to the student's needs?
I rely on a diverse set of material, including standardized test prep materials and those from my college coursework, to tailor my tutoring style to each student's needs.
What types of materials do you typically use during a tutoring session?
I typically use respected standardized test study guides and practice tests in my sessions.