Award-Winning Test Prep & Academic Tutoring in Duanesburg, NY

"In today's session we worked on practice problems in integration, including their application in word problems. The student has a very solid foundation and understands the material very well, the problem seems to be in getting started and being able to break down application problems so they are easier to manage and understand. Most of these problems require a lot of problem solving and thinking outside of the box, which is different than the math he has had in the past. So our goal really is to get him used to doing and understanding math in this new form and the best way to do that is through more practice. I have seen improvement though, and I am positive about the direction he is going and the work he is putting in."

"Today we focused on fleshing out a topic and outline for the student's oral analytical commentary on Orwell's Books vs. Cigarettes. We worked on developing a thesis and the student learned how theses should be structured. We covered a ton of different literary techniques and terms including symbolism and social commentary and then examined the style and structure of Orwell's essay. After drafting a proposal for her to submit to her teacher, we spent the last 10 minutes of the session working on her own writing, focusing on her ability to use commas properly. We did this by doing exercises together and clearing up an ambiguities that arose. She struggled most with articulating a topic and argument for her presentation. She knew that she found Orwell's essay interesting, but had a lot of trouble converting her analysis into anything concrete and arguable. We worked together to fix this and will continue working on her presentation and analyzing the essay regularly until the deadline. She once again had a great attitude, remaining engaged and enthusiastic even as the material we work on becomes more dense and academic. She can also be relied upon to speak up when our analysis is going over her head or when I've articulated something in a way that she has trouble grasping. I provided her with a widely transferable structure to use for both this specific thesis and theses in general. I also returned to the topic of simplifying grammatically complex sentences so that they feel more manageable. Additionally, I showed her useful resource-gathering practices for her essay, including using online article footnotes so that she can find more academic resources rather than more simplistic resources. She has become noticeably more proficient in her grammar skills and her ability to articulate her analysis. She did a great job on the comma exercises and seemed to be experiencing breakthroughs in her understanding of grammar. "

"The student told me about the areas she needs to focus on and her experience taking and studying for the exam thus far. We discussed the nature of the test and how to use good time management during the test. We discussed the experimental questions in the test and how to avoid considering those for too long as they are not scored. We also discussed changing studying habits and co-created a weekly study schedule. She and I walked through several math-related problems from her study materials. We also did a practice quiz together. I showed her the study materials on the website portal and encouraged her to take the two diagnostic tests before our next session. We discussed exam dates, session dates and times and then ended our session. "

"Today, we talked about the student's report cards and were encouraged that she has done better than we expected. We set goals for the next quarter. She has reading homework to do for the day, and she has been trying very hard to focus and be productive. She is also doing very well in her art class and work and finds passion in it. We are confident that she is going to do better and better!"

"I checked over the student's homework. He did a pretty good job, but was struggling a bit with the multiplication. He just needs to go over his flashcards more frequently so that he can memorize them better. We went over two-digit multiplication, rounding, borrowing and carrying today, as well as identifying shapes. He did a good job today. I assigned him some homework for him to complete toward the end of the session to complete over the weekend."

"Yesterday we went over the student's homework assignment. She has a test on Thursday, so we will be having another session today to prepare her for that. She did very well on her homework. She has the slope formula down and can find slope with points or a graph. The only problem we ran into was a work problem that required her to create an equation. We talked over it and she understood what she had to do for these types of problems. Simplifying square root is still a little troubling for her, so we will be sure to go over that today as well as graphing and the slope formula."

"The student is finally caught up with the logarithm unit, so tonight, we went over the current lesson on the number e and the natural logarithm. He had no trouble understanding how to treat e and ln(x) just like any other exponential/logarithm combination."

"Today we continued working on AP calculus practice tests. We got through the first 28 problems which were a mixture of almost everything the student has learned so far. There were some that he wasn't sure how to start, so I began by asking him his thoughts and coaching him through these problems. Once he understood it, he was able to complete it and eventually duplicate the process in similar problems. We worked through few test questions in integration by substitution, and he seemed to understand it. We will keep working on this as he will be seeing a lot of integration by substitution on the AP exam."

"For biology, yesterday's homework was complete and correct. I gave a lecture on mutation. The student's homework is to read 13.4 with workbook problems. For algebra, yesterday's homework was mostly correct. We went over wrong answers and she understood them completely when we were done. We began to review for the Ch 8 test on Friday. Her homework is to review the chapter material and practice problems from the text."

"Today, we reviewed calorimetry problems. She was able to do them easily after we did a couple problems. I broke down the approach for her to understand. Then we reviewed more naming of compounds and acids to ensure she is ready for them. Lastly, I touched upon phase change problems and showed her how to do the problems easily without issue. "