Award-Winning Tutors from Portland State University

I'm a retired college English Instructor who taught literature classes including science fiction, fantasy, Shakespeare, Arthur Conan Doyle, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and a few more of my favorites. I live in a small Oregon town in a 1939 farmhouse on a half-acre with my wife and 2 cats.My Master's degree covers five areas of specialization that have shaped my interests: Renaissance literature, Old English and Medieval literature, Mythology, Science fiction, and Post-colonial British literature.I have been a reader of mainstream science fiction since I was 10, and I got into comics soon after (I haven't stopped reading them yet). Somewhere along the way, (around 14 or 15) I found Lord of the Rings. I was hooked on fantasy from then on. Between comics and my love of all things Fantasy, it was natural for me to also get into RPGs.I have also dabbled in writing non-fiction stuff after college. Some techie works were published in science news for kids, and some articles for archaeology publications. I have submitted some shorter fantasy pieces here and there, but nothing published yet.

Hi all! I'm a fiction writer and movie nerd here to help with any form of writing and/or editing. I have an MFA in creative writing from Portland State University and a BA in English from Seattle Pacific University. I recently taught composition (levels 1 and 2) at Northwest Kansas Technical College. The part of teaching I enjoyed the most was working with students one-on-one to give them tips that were specific to their writing voices. If that sounds like the kind of help you need, I'd love to try and give you a hand.

I'm an electrical engineer working in the pro audio hardware industry. I currently hold a MSEE and BSEE with a minor in physics. I've also been a professional musician since the late 90s. I aim to help students develop their own intuition when solving problems and learning new concepts. If you're having trouble in some areas, there's a good chance I've already struggled through it!

Hi! I am a certified elementary teacher available for online and local in person tutoring. I hold a master's degree in teaching and a bachelor's degree in Public Health Education. I currently teach English Language Arts in an International IB school.

Although I love travel and have lived both overseas and across the country, I always come back to my hometown, Portland, Oregon. After earning a partial International Baccalaureate degree, I moved to England to pursue a science degree when I was eighteen. While I was there, however, I realized that I needed to focus on my true passion, writing.I came home and earned my BA in English with a minor in writing at Portland State University. Then, I took a few years off from school and traveled all over the United States. Two years ago, I began my Master of Fine Arts in Writing at Pacific University. It's been a wonderful experience, and I'm very lucky to have worked with some superb writers.Writing is communication. It's not words on a page, and it's not just an essay or a novel or the manual to our new blender. It's the storytelling we do on a day to day basis. It's about presenting our own personal knowledge to the world and making a connection. It is vital. Not everyone is a writer, but everyone needs to know how to say: "Here, let me tell you this," and have others understand.When I'm not doing homework, I'm working on my personal writing or art projects. I have two dogs that get walked everyday on the trails near my house, and sometimes I even find time for a ride on my road bike or a hike with one of my friends.

My teaching style tends to focus around a combination of Progressive, Humanistic, and Radical pedagogy/andragogy. That is to say, I center the experiences and learning styles of each student at the core of the learning process.I am a quick and creative problem-solver who is able to adapt to different learning environment and different students' needs quickly, using a variety of learning tools.I have a Master's degree in Educational Leadership & Policy with a focus on Post-secondary Adult & Continuing Education. My professional background in this field means that I am able to build clear and concise curriculum that centers around a student's learning needs.In areas of preparing students for testing, I am particularly adept at helping learners develop quick and quality essay writing skills to cut down on test time.I believe in interdisciplinary education, meaning that I connect related subjects together in order to guide students towards a deeper understanding of whatever topics they are currently tackling. I find that this interdisciplinary approach also helps students in honing critical thinking and critical analysis skills by developing a habit of seeing the real-world connections and context of their subject matter.I am best suited towards aiding high school students and adult community college/freshman and junior university level students.

I am a graduate student at Portland State University, where I also work as a tutor in the Writing Center.My tutoring experience, however, goes beyond that. I worked as a peer writing tutor at Bennington College, where I completed my undergraduate degree. My experience, though, is not limited to working with college students. Indeed, I have spent more time working with high school and middle school students, spending 3 years tutoring Math and English at a charter school in Providence, R.I., and a year working with 6th graders.Having worked across different age groups, I recognize that there is no one correct method of tutoring. Indeed, it is to my advantage to work across the age groups, because it has allowed me to develop my style of tutoring, which is entirely student driven.By that, I mean I go into a tutoring session ready to respond to what the student needs. As a tutor, I am not the primary educator, but rather someone who offers what a student might not necessarily have at school: personalized, one-on-one support and assistance, designed to meet the needs of the student, and tailored around how best the student learns and engages with their subjects.Because of that, I find working with students to be very rewarding. Each student is different, and making it possible to better myself as an educator, and allowing me to better help my students.

Hello! My name is Trinity. I am a Portland State University Honors graduate with a degree in biology and a minor in community health science. With my degree, I aspire to work in healthcare as a physician assistant. I have a large background in teaching, tutoring and mentoring. I look forward to helping others using the knowledge I have learned in my undergrad! I hope to make the complex world of biology seem a little less complicated and encourage students to explore the beauty of it!

I enjoy helping students understand complex concepts in simple terms, memorize new knowledge, build confidence, and succeed.

Hello! Hola!I look forward to helping you with your Spanish. I am currently in the Spanish M.A. program at Portland State University, and I also teach beginning Spanish students at the university level. I have lived abroad in Mexico and have had extensive professional and interpersonal contact with people from all over the Spanish speaking world. I am confident I can help you improve your level of Spanish whether you are a beginner, intermediate, or advanced student.When I began learning Spanish about twelve years ago, it was a very challenging and frustrating experience. I felt like I was the slowest student in class, and even though I spent a lot of time studying, some things just did not make sense to me. I felt like I would never be able to become fluent and have a comprehensible conversation with a native speaker. Now, I have enjoyed being completely fluent in Spanish for several years, and I have even had a few native speakers confuse me for a fellow native Spanish speaker.I have recently began a career as a Spanish instructor for first and second year university students, and I have been tutoring Spanish students off and on for the last seven years. While I love teaching in the classroom, I also love the one-on-one experience of being able to personalize the content to an individual's needs and move at the student's own pace. This is ideal and very important when learning!I look forward to connecting with you and helping!

I have been teaching for 6 years. I have been a special education teacher for 6 years and have been focusing on autism for the last 5 years. My first year I worked with students with behavior issues, then two years with students with severe autism. For the last three years I've been teaching in a virtual school. I focus on reading. I also teach social skills and study skills. I have worked with students ranging from kindergarten through ninth grade and have enjoyed all of my experiences. Reading skills are so important that no matter what I am working with a student on, be it science, social studies, or even math, we will be practicing and improving out reading skills in that area of study.

I am a native speaker of Mandarin Chinese. I have two degrees of teaching Chinese as a second language and teaching English as a second language. With my background I have more experience with some problems that non-native Chinese speakers could have. I have been teaching Chinese with non-native speakers for two years, and recently I have been teaching Chinese with little kids. I've found that before age 6, kids can quickly and correctly learn tones, and after 6 they can learn characters and strokes and better understand sentence structure. No matter what ages my students are, I like to use games and role playing to practice with them, because it's fun and applicable to real-life conversations. I like to have students practice writing and discuss the history and background of the Chinese culture, so they can understand the meaning of the Chinese characters and language in a better way. If students don't understand the history, Chinese can be hard for them to remember. I also like to focus on practicing conversations in my tutoring sessions, and it is highly emphasized in my teaching.

I take pride and satisfaction when I know my tutoring has made a difference in one's life.

I primarily tutor a lot of math classes. Anything from elementary school through undergrad. High school Geometry? Yep! Real Analysis? Absolutely! Python? Not quite math, you tricky person, but sign right up. I tutor a bit of physics and computer programming as well. Test prep, too. But who am I? I am a math music philosophy nerd. I love Gauss almost as much as I love Bach and I love Bach almost as much as I like Hegel. So chat to me about that stuff if you are so inclined. But you want to just chill and have homework help? That's quite all right, too!

Writing and critical thinking are essential to academic success and participation in our cultural experience. Life is richer with a clearer understanding of how and why cultural production and the arts work. My goal is to demystify the writing process and nurture critical analysis to not only increase academic success but create more meaningful life experiences. I firmly believe that the humanities and a liberal education serve to create a rich and more enjoyable life, regardless of what field of work one ends up working in.I earned my Bachelors degree in Comparative Literature from Long Beach State University and a Masters in English from Portland State University while working full time. This blue collar outlook benefitted me by seeing how a liberal arts education dovetailed into situations that were not strictly academic in nature. The critical thinking skills that were fostered in the classroom would translate out into the living world allow me to converse and engage with various members of the community in meaningful ways.My passion is allow students to see this fluidity between the classroom and real world and help them realize the meaningful nature of the humanities. Once this understanding is achieved problems with the writing process and critical analysis become less daunting, since we must simply learn a new way to communicate the ideas we are already engaged with.I enjoy attending all sorts of cultural events, especially those that offer unique and differing opinions from my own. From the country flea market to the civic opera, watching blockbuster films to the independent arthouse offerings, I like to engage with all of the cultural productions that are available to me. It is in that spirit of 'Carpe Diem' that I enjoy being a part of the creative, living world around us.

I am a dedicated tutor with years of experience. I provide support and guidance for students in many subjects and specialize in test preparation, teaching study skills, and ensuring a deep understanding of all material. My background includes a Graduate Degree in Environmental and Resource Economics with honors, and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics, with honors. I have tutored students at all levels of mathematics, prepared students for high school and college, and taught graduate level econometrics and statistics.

I'm a Portland State University graduate, having received a Bachelor or Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing. I've come to a point in my life where I feel extremely fortunate to have received the education I have, and I'm eager to begin the process of giving back some of the valuable lessons I've learned. Whether through my time as a teaching assistant in Elementary School classrooms, or volunteering at Casa de Los Angeles, a daycare in San Miguel de Allende, I've always made sure that teaching and working with others has played a part in my life. I'm interested in approaching tutoring as something that resembles a process of mutual learning more than it does a teacher-student dynamic. I believe that there is always something to learn from working with another individual, and it's in these one-on-one collaborations that I've found the most fulfillment over the years.Outside of my academic life, I write, exercise and play music every chance I get. I've always been a fiction writer, and was fortunate enough to follow this passion at my university. Throughout my education, it's been the classes that stimulate my interest and capture my imagination that I find myself learning the most from, but even when I've taken subjects I didn't think I'd connect with, there have been teachers whose passion for the material helped me find my own. When tutoring reading and writing, it's my goal to let my enthusiasm for the subjects come through, and hopefully inspire some of that same spirit in others.

I am a poet and community activist with a strong connection to the place where I live. Poetry deepens my connection to the earth, and my commitment to help create a just, peaceful and sustainable world. I work with other volunteers on environmental issues such as climate change, the cleanup of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation and the Portland Harbor superfund cleanup. I graduated from the PSU Leadership for Sustainability Education master's program with a certificate in Teaching Adult Learners. I've taught and tutored ESL and GED as well as a graduate course, Global Political Ecology. I have also worked with special needs students. An important part of my life-long learning has been to visit other places and cultures. I served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Uganda where I worked with primary teachers. I've learned to learn from those I teach!

I bring to you teaching experience that includes 3+ years working with Varsity, and 10 years with 2 major universities (U of Texas at Austin and U of Washington), working with content from Introduction to Financial Accounting, Cost/Managerial, Intermediate, and Advanced Financial Accounting. I love assisting students, particularly CPA candidates (call me crazy but my specialties are preparing for FAR and AUD). Before teaching, I worked for many years as a practitioner in audit and accounting at a variety of companies like KPMG and Amazon. My specialty in the field is forensic accounting. Once I built up enough experience, I started teaching while still working full time in the field. Currently, the majority of my time is teaching. What that means for you: credibility from years of working with clients; responding to a voluminous amount of student questions; and the ability to connect real world to academics. I look forward to meeting you and watching you achieve your goals!

I am a licensed Oregon teacher with an endorsement to teach secondary social studies, and an M.Ed from Portland State University. For the past 6 years I have worked as a substitute teacher in a variety of classrooms, and have also taught social studies with Portland Public Schools' Evening and Summer Scholars Program. I have taught U.S. History 1 and 2, Government, (and Global Perspectives as a student teacher).In addition, I am highly proficient in Spanish, and I often substitute in elementary and middle school Spanish and Spanish immersion classes, as well as high school Spanish 1-4. I studied Spanish in high school and college and also spent a year in Madrid where I taught English as a foreign language, (both in secondary and business settings).I have over 10 years of education related experience. Much of it has been centered around language and literacy, whether it is Spanish, ESL, helping secondary students write research papers and access academic content and vocabulary, or doing direct instruction and remedial reading intervention with elementary students. Finally I also have some experience teaching basic math, and beginning algebra.I hope I can help you in achieving your educational goals and aspirations!

Learning can become a joyful activity. You just need the right professor and the right tutor for you, who loves learning. I trust in the potential in every one of us. I will be your mentor for tapping into your own and turn your learning experience into a successful and joyful one. Reach out!

I've tutored math for over four years, and as a grad student in math I have both the experience and knowledge to impart concepts and problem-solving skills. My tutoring style emphasizes patience, persistence and understanding the big picture.

I am a highly skilled tutor with a great deal of experience in Social Studies, History, and English. I teach by, most of all, making the subject appealing and exciting to learn about. We learn things so much faster when we are actually intrigued about the subject. I think encouraging that first step is crucial, and it helps these lessons become ones that we remember years after their first introduction.Alongside the motivational factor, it helps to know that, if you are terrible at taking tests, that is totally okay! Not every personality type connects with tests well, and I try to explain to my students some tricks they can use to make tests or assessments less intimidating. Reading a test can sometimes feel like learning a second language, and I emphasize that, not only is understanding it doable, but it IS possible to own it and make it approachable in a way that works personally with you. This makes every test afterward much less psychologically taxing and, oftentimes, that is the biggest hurdle students face in this day and age.

Hi, my name is Ben. I've been math tutoring for 6 years now. I have experience working with age groups from elementary age students to college students. I try to make math comprehensive to everyone I teach by demonstrating solutions to problems as best I can and also working with what they know. I believe that asking questions and making as few assumptions as possible is to solve any problem, no matter how complex.

I received a BA at Brown University and I'm currently pursuing an MS in Statistics at Portland State University. Between Brown and Portland State, I have traveled to most countries in Europe as well as many countries in Asia. I have been tutoring Math and Statistics at PCC since 2013, and I enjoy working with students from all different backgrounds. I have tutored Algebra (both beginning and college level), the Calculus series, and even courses in Differential Equations and Linear Algebra. I particularly love Statistics because it is used in so many ways in the modern world! In my spare time, I love being outdoors and practicing meditation.

I hope to help students who are struggling with their science subjects by being patient, knowledgeable, and able to find a solution to their confusion or struggle.

I have taught high school social studies and Spanish language in Los Angeles and Niwot, Colorado, Boulder County. I successfully teamed with an English and art instructor in LA to teach an art centered thematic curriculum that was underwritten by The Getty Center. While teaching I won two National Endowment of the Humanities summer teacher grants to study at Georgetown University and the Prado Museum in Madrid, Spain.I began learning Spanish while serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Choluteca, Honduras. I have studied in Mexico and Spain as well as completing a BA in Spanish at Portland State. I am also a professional chef having trained at the California Culinary Academy(now Cordon Bleu) in SFO. I also am a tour director, guide and driver working with student groups in DC and the NE US and conducting tours in the Southwest with small Spanish & English groups.

Tutoring with humor and compassion. I'm a first-generation college graduate from a working-class family. My teachers were some of the most positive influences in my life, and I want to pass on their legacy by helping students succeed. I have three years of experience tutoring college chemistry, and one year tutoring statistics. I have a PhD in microbiology, and use statistical modeling in my research. Additionally, I have taught science majors and non-majors at ASU and MCC as an instructor and as a teaching assistant for four years. When I meet a new tutoring client, I start by asking about their goals, and determining their preferred learning styles in order to help customize their learning experience. I use a variety of established teaching strategies based on how the brain, memory, and human psychology work together to foster enjoyable and successful learning.

To bridge the gap between confusion and knowledge through novel approaches which aim to make mundane material easy to grasp to anyone. I have a background in Finance and accounting, a masters in supply chain, and have completed an MBA.

Mathematics is the key science to understand many sciences. It helps you be a critical thinker and challenges your mind.

I currently work at a PreK-8th grade school in inner NE Portland. I taught 5th grade my first seven years here, 1st grade for half a year and then was given the privilege to take on the role of Behavior Coach during the last half of teaching 1st grade. I am still in this position. In this position I work with all students, staff and many families to cultivate a positive community within the school. Although I am not currently teaching, I take every opportunity I can get to interact with students academically. I am often asked to fill in for teachers instead of using a guest teacher. I love these opportunities.As a general education teacher I have taught all subjects at the K-5 level but math is my favorite. I enjoy taking a subject that many students struggle with and making it fun and understandable instead of difficult. I like seeing the joy in students' faces when they have solved a problem or grasped a new concept. Although math is my favorite subject I enjoy and am well versed in all other subjects as well.

I earned my MFA in creative writing from Portland State University and my BA in English from the University of California, Berkeley. These days I teach writing and publishing at Portland State University and Portland Community College, and I have taught creative, academic, and professional writing, including college application essays and publisher query letters. When I am not teaching, I write fiction (my debut book, From the Caves, won several national awards) and my shorter works have appeared in Poets & Writers, Longreads, The Kenyon Review, CRAFT Literary Magazine, New Orleans Review, and elsewhere. Learn more at theaprieto.com.

I am a graduate of Portland State University where I received a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts/Applied Linguistics. Currently, I am completing a Master's of Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders (Speech Pathology) at Rockhurst University. My undergraduate degree gave me a unique insight into the structure and function of language, especially English. During my time at Rockhurst University, I have worked as a Graduate Clinician at a small private school where I met with clients who struggled with spelling, writing, and reading comprehension. All three of these skills are interconnected, and progress in these areas requires use and understanding of complex syntax, morphology, phonetics, orthography and semantics. For this reason, I utilize a multilinguistic approach that simultaneously targets word-level spelling and reading, vocabulary expansion, spelling and writing conventions,and the use and comprehension of complex sentence structures. This approach can be tailored to each individual based on their needs and skill level. I firmly believe that competence in spelling, writing and reading comprehension are integral to continued academic success, and it is for this reason that I focus on improving these skills with those that I work with. In my spare time, I enjoy reading, crossword puzzles, art projects, and relaxing with friends and family.

I graduated from Portland State with a BA in English in the spring of 2014 and, after two years working in New Zealand and Argentina, I am back in the area to coach rowing and tutor before beginning my postgraduate studies in the fall.I am passionate about language, literature, and finding ways to help people improve their academic abilities (as well as their athletic abilities!).I'd love to help you un-puzzle your puzzles, develop your talents, and achieve your goals.

I emphasize conceptual understanding, real-world application, and clear communication. I'm passionate about tutoring because I enjoy helping students move from confusion to clarity and watching difficult ideas "click." Many people find statistics intimidating, so I focus on addressing misconceptions and strengthening students' confidence in their statistical thinking.

Hola, Soy Natalia y soy colombiana. I am a Spanish teacher, hold a master's degree in Spanish, and will soon graduate with a PhD in language, literature, and culture. I was an actress back in Colombia, and I have investigated and implemented different theatre practices in the teaching of Spanish. During my PhD, I developed a teaching model comprising theatre games, theatre techniques, and creative writing for teaching literature and improving conversational skills. In the classes, I use tons of visual aids and conversation practice to teach grammar and help students refine their language skills. In our lessons, I will have a balance between fun and focused work, so be ready to play and learn. Nos vemos pronto

I have been a teacher all my life whether in the classroom or just in life. I love learning, and I am constantly seeking out new areas of interest, whether it's online courses or working on a new degree or taking up a new hobby. Interacting with students of all ages, backgrounds and nationalities always leads to that rewarding experience of helping someone learn something new. I'm always up for the challenges of teaching -- as a wise man once said, "There are as many kinds of intelligence as there are individuals"! Understanding each individual's unique learning process is the key that helps any student learn any subject.

I have a Master's of Art in Teaching from Lewis and Clark College (2006) and I live in Portland, OR. My undergrad degree is in History. I am a retired (but still licensed) special education teacher. I am certified to teach SpEd, Social Studies, and ELA for K-12. I have tutored adults who are studying to pass the US Citizenship test as well.I do my best to meet students wherever they are without judgment and with curiosity.I genuinely believe that a good teacher/student connection is essential for students to feel comfortable and be successful.In my "day job," I work behind the scenes to assist adults with intellectual disabilities to achieve greater independence.

Hi, I'm Kevin! Want to order confidently in Seoul or finally understand that K-drama line? Let's make Korean useful and fun. As a graduate teaching assistant, I help students turn confusing ideas into clear, manageable steps. We'll practice real conversations, unpack tricky grammar, and use your interests to bring lessons to life. I love board games, gardening, and cats, so we'll have plenty to talk about. Bring your curiosity; mistakes are welcome here!

I am a college student with a passion for learning and helping others learn. I am in the process of completing a BA in History, with minors in Arabic and Classics at Portland State University. I had the privilege of tutoring students at Portland's Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA) for three months for my "senior capstone" project.I believe in cooperative, student-centered learning, and I strive to meet the learning needs of my pupils by discerning and adapting to different interests, levels of knowledge, and learning styles.In my free time, I serve as the president of Portland State's Model United Nations team. I am also a tournament-chess player of middling strength.