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Stacy

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I am a recent graduate of The University of Queensland in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, where I earned my Graduate Diploma in Education (Secondary) with specialized teaching areas in Physics and Mathematics. While I recently earned my teaching certification, I am no stranger to education.

While earning my Master of Science from Florida State University in Tallahassee, FL, USA, I worked as a teaching aid and had my first experience as an instructor. I loved it so much that my supervising professor gave me reign to design a hybrid Astronomy course utilizing Blackboard for lecture materials and discussions, leaving in-class time dedicated to laboratory practicals. At this time online learning was not widely used and the curriculum for this course became a model for future hybrid classes at Florida State University.

I went on to teach high school physics while spending a year with a learning organization in San Francisco as a prep teacher for the standardized tests (SAT, ACT, GRE) and a tutor in all areas of mathematics, sciences, and English, as I hold a BA in English (Creative Writing) along with my MS/BSc in Physics. This position allowed me to hone my test preparation skills and enabled me to instruct students on how to take tests, read questions, and how to best create tests for my own instructional purposes. It also taught me how much I enjoy working in small groups with students and prompted me to begin private tutoring soon after.

In 2008 I joined the innovative team at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida as their Associate Course Director for their Physics Department. After two years teaching Physics, I was promoted to Course Director of Online Statistics and built and taught that course for another two years. It was at this time that I realized I wanted to tackle the challenges of modern education at the secondary school level to better understand what the students learned in high school and as I wanted a more worldly understanding I chose the University of Queensland as UQ is both established and well-known, and offered a rigorous and informative curriculum to expand my understanding of pedagogy and how to better understand my students when creating curriculum. I also spent those two years privately tutoring some amazing students, and I plan on continuing to work with them via Skype despite the time difference next school year. I am experienced in the technologies involved with distance learning as well as those that can be implemented into the classroom environment.

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Stacy’s Qualifications

Education & Certification

Undergraduate Degree: Florida State University - Bachelors, English/Physics

Graduate Degree: Florida State University - Master of Science, Physics

Hobbies

Making & playing music, yoga, running, video games, writing poetry & science fiction, holistic & healthy living

Tutoring Subjects

Algebra

Algebra 2

Algebra 3/4

Calculus

College Algebra

College English

College Essays

College Physics

Comparative Literature

English

Essay Editing

Geometry

High School English

High School Physics

ISEE Prep

ISEE- Upper Level

Literature

Math

Physics

Pre-Algebra

Reading

Science

SSAT Prep

SSAT- Upper Level

Trigonometry

Writing

Q & A

What is your teaching philosophy?

Learning is not a one-way street, but is instead a conversation amongst teachers and students in order to achieve mastery and a sense of community. I instruct through guidance and support, with focus on understanding concepts.

What might you do in a typical first session with a student?

First sessions are a great time to introduce myself and learn a bit about the student - the subjects they're taking and how they feel about them. In addition, I usually request information about their courses: textbooks, course level, current topic list, etc. I like knowing all the subjects a student is taking, as many are interrelated, and I often can help with most subjects. Then we will determine together the first course of action.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

I can help a student become an independent learner by teaching them the techniques they need in order to create their own efficient way of studying and learning material. I will do so by providing different examples and explanations of methods based on the type of learner a student is, to tailor my approach to the student's strengths and natural talents.

If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?

Different students require different approaches to material. I love using analogies to make conceptual ideas more real to my students, and it's important to use comparisons that they can relate to. There are always multiple ways to explain an idea - we just have to find the one that works!

How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?

It's important for the student to actively be aware when they are reading something they do not understand. Oftentimes, rewording a sentence or passage in their own voice can help students. I am also a big proponent of understanding via context; examining how the word or phrase is used usually provides the learner with something familiar they can associate it with and this is a proven technique in deciphering unknown vocabulary words. In addition, understanding and recognizing the basic structures and formats of stories, essays, poems, etc. will greatly help the learner anticipate how the reading will progress. It will also allow them to anticipate how the piece will be written, thus reducing anxiety. Story maps can also assist in achieving this goal.

What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?

I like to set up a routine with students so they know what I expect of them and what they can expect of me. I find it important to "break the ice" during our first meeting and relate to the learner on a level that is comfortable to them, with respect to their stronger and weaker subjects, personal interests, and how they gauge their study skills and school performance. My professional practice includes a dash or two of silliness/playfulness intermingled with focusing on lesson goals and staying on task. I find that approach helps students relax and feel more comfortable asking me questions and letting me know when they do not understand. Our first meeting sets the stage for our future times together, and I believe that learning must have a sense of lightheartedness and enjoyment for full comprehension and retention to be achieved. In addition, I always request that I am provided with some previous work before a first session, whether it be an online diagnostic test, a homework assignment, or previous exams, as this allows me to get a general feel for the learner's strengths and weaknesses and allows me to begin cultivating an appropriate learning plan based on their needs.

How would you help a student get excited/engaged with a subject that they are struggling in?

There are many ways to engage a student in a subject matter they may initially feel they are not good at. I usually mix my instruction with a small amount of controlled casual conversation in order to get to know the student's interests and what excites them. I can always find a way to link a learner's interests to the subject matter we are working on; sometimes it takes a bit of creativity but there is always a way! In addition, there are multiple ways of presenting information across all subject matters. As an example, I oftentimes assign online math video games as practice, especially for those who learn by doing and/or are visual learners.

What techniques would you use to be sure that a student understands the material?

To ensure a student understands a topic or idea, I will ask the student to explain it to me in their own words. In essence, I will request the student teach me what they have just learned. This almost instantly will show if there's a gap in understanding, and where that gap is so that we may hone in on that area. In addition, I will also provide the learner with recommended (or required, based on parental preference) practice problem sets or reading, depending on what subject matter we are working on. At the end of sessions I like to close with the 3-2-1 Countdown: tell me three things they learned during the session, two things they want to know more about, and one specific question they have. This countdown is mutually beneficial as I know more where the student is with respect to the material and the student does as well.

How do you evaluate a student's needs?

There are many ways to determine a specific learner's needs. Multiple forms of assessment are invaluable in this regard, especially with respect to content. Diagnostic tests are incredibly useful in pinpointing gaps in knowledge and understanding. Taking regular assessments is a helpful form of content comprehension. In addition, I request whatever information the parents can provide me with regards to normal academic achievements, personal interests, learning style, social skills, and any pertinent background. I also request students take a learning style questionnaire. I find understanding how the learner best takes in and processes information to be vital knowledge for me in my instructional approach. Students also give clues as to their needs if they're not outright explicit with them, and picking up on those cues is an important part of facilitating learning.

How do you adapt your tutoring to the student's needs?

I have experience working with a wide variety of learners with different learning styles and multiple types of intelligence. If an approach I am using is not working or is not effective, I re-evaluate by asking my student what s/he feels is helpful and what is potentially confusing. The student might not know, and in those cases, I move to another approach I feel is the most logical based on my knowledge and understanding of the student. There is always more than one way to approach a topic or problem, and the learning process must be flexible to allow for this true understanding and retention to occur. I may change the presentation of material (slideshows/PPTs, me writing on the whiteboard, co-writing with the student, utilizing visual software or games, etc.) if the student's needs are not being fully met.

What types of materials do you typically use during a tutoring session?

I have a substantial collection of resources at my disposal to work with online students, and it is accurately tailored to grade level. I very often will use this material as I am able to assign practice tests and create problem sets specifically tailored to that student. In addition, I find that videos can be incredibly useful, especially when working with certain concepts or when introducing mnemonics for retention purposes - songs are very effective in that arena! I am a visual learner myself so I'm very often finding graphs, charts, diagrams, etc., to help illustrate the current concept. I also look for free or very inexpensive apps if the student has access to a smartphone or tablet. There are a number of fantastic resources out there that engage learners and will teach the student a bit about the app so they can use it between our sessions.

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