Matthew: Mundelein tutor

Certified Tutor

I am an applied mathematics PhD student with over 7 years of experience in tutoring and teaching. Some of my favorite courses to tutor are Calculus I-III, College Algebra, and Algebra.


I base my pedagogical style on my belief that mathematics should be accessible to all students and that every student has the ability to learn and obtain an understanding of mathematics on a deeper level. It is my role in the classroom to facilitate an environment that promotes growth and stimulates learning.

I believe the best way to teach mathematics is through a two-fold approach, direct instruction and hands on experience. These are not mutually exclusive and often one will inspire the other. Through direct instruction, the students learn the relevant background theory, definitions, and theorems in order to gain an understanding of the problems at hand. Then after they are made aware of these concepts they must learn them through applying them to problems. Reading a definition or a theorem is one thing, but I feel students truly learn when they have hands on experience in trying to directly apply it to a problem. Usually during this process, there will be questions on how/when to apply and (if something goes wrong) why it doesn't work in some cases.


I try to model my teaching style in such a way that creates a positive, open learning environment. I conduct my recitations with eagerness to teach and answer questions so that my students may mirror my behavior and come to recitations eager to learn and ask questions. To do this, I come prepared to my recitations and maintain a friendly, open, and respectful demeanor to engage the students on a personal level and relate with the students. I firmly believe that a student best learns when they are comfortable asking questions and making mistakes along the way.