About Me

Before moving to Florida, I graduated from McDaniel College with a Master's Degree in Deaf Education. I have worked with deaf students (ranging from elementary to middle school, both with and without mental disabilities) at a deaf school in Pennsylvania. In addition, I provided manipulatives and hands-on activities in order to assist my deaf students with lessons they were struggling with, and volunteered to tutor struggling students at home. Currently, I hold a Florida certification in Deaf Education. I also love teaching elementary math and grammar at the third-grade level or below, and American Sign Language for students aged 10 and up. Sign language is very fun to learn and use, no matter what your age may be. My favorite subject is math because people use math every day, from everything from money and measurements to time. I love to enable students to think of different ways to calculate addition, subtraction, and multiplication, and to consider writing those equations in multiple ways. In all of these subjects, my students develop their skills over time and improve their mastery of math on a daily basis. As I value students' education, I believe in a student-centered style of teaching--partly because students love to take ownership of their own learning, but also because putting students in control of their education enables them to remember information readily. Through this approach, they develop thinking skills by doing tasks independently or in small groups. They are also given hands-on activities and computer games to pick up new ideas, adding to their prior knowledge. Those activities help motivate students to become more engaged in the learning process. As a result, I believe that ownership over their education helps students develop and master skills. I believe it is also essential to help deaf students think and answer questions independently. By asking questions and letting them answer as best as they can, I am able to ascertain exactly how much they understand and have learned. I like using various manipulatives, such as board and computer games, in order to better develop the skills of motivated but struggling students. After American Sign Language (ASL) sessions, I also like to have hearing students practice ASL at home, using computer programs and websites like ASLpro.com. I will engage them in natural conversation at home, beginning with simple signs until they have learned enough to work on more complex ones.

Education & Certifications

Q&A with Patricia

Tutoring Subjects