Award-Winning SAT Math Tutors in Federal Way, WA

...my solutions to help students achieve their goals. Preparing for a standardized test can feel overwhelming. But you really can be prepared. Careful, concept-oriented preparation can help ensure that students don’t run into anything radically new on exam day. My preparation strategy aims to give students the instruction they need to recognize as many problem...

...and I still keep in touch with many of my students. I also previously earned a Bachelor's degree in biochemistry from the University of West Florida. I have lots of experience teaching and tutoring chemistry students of all levels, and I also have done some work in the past with SAT test prep. I know...

...I've used the things I've learned so understand their context very well, I've had experience teaching in classrooms, at high school and university level, and also in 1-1 contexts from a young age, so I've met a range of different student types, and know how to adapt a teaching style to the student.... I have a specific example from a high school which gives insight into my teaching philosophy. When I began teaching mathematics I started by teaching at the board--working through examples which were as clear as possible, giving students plenty of opportunities to ask questions. My explanations were clear and concise, and I could break a problem down into steps. However, the classrooms I found myself in rarely had the type of student I imagined I would be teaching, interruptions, distractions, and a lack of questions, all made me consider how exactly I could be effective in a classroom and how students were learning. When I was reading student quizzes, I was amazed at the difference between what I had emphasized and what they had absorbed. But I taught that; they were there (in the classroom, at least), I would think. To be effective, I needed to consider how my students and I spent my time in a given class; there is the time spent at the board, there is time spent observing students, time spent solving individual questions, or checking what students have understood, and so on. There is the question of what students are focusing on during those minutes in class, as well as the minutes at home. At some point, I realized that everybody in the classroom doesn't need to be doing the same thing at the same time, in fact, it was unproductive to work off this assumption, which creates dead-time where students are learning nothing. I had to accept that students will and must get distracted. Students shouldn't be doing the same thing at the same time. That way of teaching (and thinking) is ideal for one-on-one teaching or tutoring but ineffective for a group of students with different levels and interests. I changed my focus about what I was teaching, because I realized here that a greater part of my role was to raise students' awareness about their own learning, how they learn, whose responsibility it should be, about what their aims were. These were longer-term life skills that they needed. By strengthening self-reflection skills, and aiming for greater critical thinking, I hoped to increase their independence, particularly of the stronger students, so that I freed up time in my class to solve the problems of those who were really stuck and needed one-to-one assistance. It is a question of helping them develop productive learning habits. By talking about their own pace, their own goals, what the purpose of writing notes is, I also wanted to build this idea of their own learning, to stop them thinking of homework as a chore done for the teacher; things like this. There are students who naturally learn; if they are given a book, the page numbers, and the exercises they should be doing, they will sit down and work through it themselves. (No incentive is needed). However, they are a small minority in my experience. Apart from the weakest students, the majority need some sort of assistance from students around them or encouragement from the teacher. You show a student you care when you are talking to them one on one (and sometimes it shouldn't be about mathematics). The question is always how to find the time to do this with students, to build rapport which is so important--how to split myself into different people, working through an example with one student while talking to another student who needs to be engaged, or really has questions. In the school in which I currently work, iPads have been introduced into the classroom as a learning tool, and I looked for ways to incorporate it about the same time, and I was thinking about these challenges in my classroom, so I found my answer here, though I'm sure other solutions exist. I was conscious that iPads shouldn't replace traditional learning methods; they should add something new. When I looked at the material I was going to be teaching, or the worksheets the students would be attempting, I made the decision to make videos of all the examples, and all the problems in advance (as much as possible). I also created resource documents, which gathered other useful online material, such as websites with more depth, videos, etc., because students don't have time to research a lot. I also had to teach students for whom English was a second language, and who are used to my ways of explanation. I also needed some way to deliver this material to my students quickly. In the end, to create a system which was as flexible as possible and could be quickly implemented, I chose to record videos without sound, adding everything as notes on the flipchart, aiming at visual learners who comprise the bulk of learners. I created pdfs of the flipcharts, so students could skip the videos if they wished, and scan the pdf instead. All the students have Google Drive accounts (given by the school), so I created a folder structure of units to store all this material, which they access anywhere at any time. They can watch my explanations as many times as they want. They can read the solutions firstly and then attempt the problems, or they can check solutions after they are done, the idea being that everyone is on the path to becoming that last kind of learner. In this framework, there is scope for students to take a break from learning too, and can be negotiated on an individual basis. All these ideas are readily applicable to a college setting. Class time focuses on students working through problems, watching videos and attempting basic questions for homework. I allow them to solve the problems in any order they choose. One student can be up at the board showing that they can solve a problem, and some will watch while others continue working on the problems they are interested in. The same problem can be solved on the smart board two or three times during one week by different people if need be. Testing and spot quizzes can still be applied easily to measure what people are learning. In the case of broad problems, it is easy to return to the top of the classroom to make clear the concept or the points they've missed, to repeat a particular point. As a group it is conceptual or debatable questions where we interact, or the examples of real-life applications, or in smaller groups when group work activities have been planned.

...where I am working towards a Bachelor of Arts degree and am focusing on the field of social sciences. My school experience has encompassed private and public school, home schooling, and parent-teacher co-ops. I began tutoring as a freshman in high school, and have continued to tutor elementary through high school levels of math, reading,...

...advisor with the Meiklejohn Peer Advising Program. As part of this program, I helped first year students navigate the academic, social and extracurricular aspects of their college experience. Biology, Chemistry and English are my favorite subjects to tutor, and also the areas in which I have the most experience. I am a voracious reader, so...

...gets a problem or concept. I am currently a Freshman at University of Washington planning on majoring in Chemistry. I've always been strong in math in science and have been helping people with these subjects since I've been in those classes. This year I am taking Calculus and Honors Chemistry. Many of the students that...

...working on my m=Masters in teaching with the hopes of becoming a high school Biology and/or Chemistry teacher. I have a passion for education and love helping students learn and succeed - not just to pass the classes they need to, but to have a thorough understanding of and passion for the topic. While I...

...and have found a home in Seattle. I received my B.S. in Architectural Engineering with an emphasis in Electrical/Lighting at the University of Nebraska. While in school, I worked as a teaching assistant in Electrical Engineering while also informally mentoring and tutoring other students in my dorm. I found that motivating and helping others to...

...Matt Kuhn. I am a professional engineer who is exceptional at math, physics, and the sciences. Working with people of all ages is a passion of mine! If I am not at the office, you can find me hiking the mountains of I-90, biking the Interurban Trail, or experimenting with a new recipe. I am...

...and understanding by nature, and have a knack for getting to the root of any problem in order to help students understand it themselves. I am not interested in simply just giving you the correct answer. My ultimate goal is to help you develop a deeper, more solid foundation for the subject so you can...