Branden
Certified Tutor
As a versatile engineering graduate, I strive to exemplify in my tutoring the same communication skills, attention to detail, and creative initiative that I developed during my studies. Having learned through past teaching experience that no two students think exactly alike, I facilitate learning by developing methods that cater to a student's personal learning style. I aim to make the learning experience feel less like a chore and more like an opportunity for self-improvement.
Outside of tutoring, I indulge my addiction to crossword puzzles and enjoy foreign language studies and practicing guitar in my spare time. I believe that self-improvement, whether personal or professional, is always a possibility.
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Undergraduate Degree: Northwestern University - Bachelors, Mechanical Engineering
Sudoku, crossword puzzles, basketball, and practicing guitar
- Algebra
- Calculus
- Calculus 3
- Differential Equations
- English
- English Grammar and Syntax
- Essay Editing
- Geometry
- High School Writing
- Japanese
- Languages
- Math
- Middle School Writing
- Multivariable Calculus
- Pre-Algebra
- Trigonometry
- Writing
What is your teaching philosophy?
No two students learn and think in exactly the same way. A teacher should strive to accommodate students' widely varying strengths, weaknesses, and individual thought processes.
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
In a typical first session, I would try to develop a clear sense of the student's strengths and weaknesses with regard to the specific subject. This would include both asking questions explicitly and offering some sort of preliminary assessment. I would develop teaching methods by taking the information I gather from these steps into account.
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
For a student to become an independent learner, the student must understand how to apply his or her personal learning style to a specific subject. Discussing personal study habits and developing concrete review methods for the student to refine would help the process.
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
I would speak with the student to try identifying specifically where the difficulty learning the skill or concept arises. Given that information, I would try to lay out a step-by-step, easy to digest framework for approaching applications where that concept is involved. Practice would be a point of emphasis, because, without practice, the student would have no way of knowing the extent of his or her understanding of the skill or concept.