Nick
Certified Tutor
Undergraduate Degree: University of Maryland-Baltimore County - Bachelor of Science, Mathematics
Mathematics, Baseball.
10th Grade Math
11th Grade Math
12th Grade Math
Algebra 3/4
SAT Subject Test in Mathematics Level 1
SAT Subject Test in Mathematics Level 2
SAT Subject Tests Prep
What is your teaching philosophy?
Repetition with problems a student has issues with until they overcome their learning block. Also, expressing different ways to go about the problem to make it easier for the student to understand.
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
Introduce myself. Ask the student if they have any prior experience in this subject. Ask the student what they feel really comfortable with and what they do not. Target areas of comfort first as a review to show they have mastered it. Then, I will jump into more complicated areas that they feel less comfortable with.
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
I will teach the student methods that will help him figure out ways to solve problems on his own. It is great for a tutor to help you, but even better if you are taught to find different ways to solve problems on your own.
How would you help a student stay motivated?
I will express to them how important their certain subject may be in real life situations. Not only is their subject applicable outside of the classroom, but it will more than likely make other subjects and things in life easier.
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
I will slow things down for them and break the problem apart. I will then address each part of the problem and see where the student is struggling and address that sector of the problem. I will then repeat the same situation using different numbers until he/she is very comfortable with that sort of problem.
What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?
Mostly a lot of repetition in math helps the students learn the best. But in some cases, problems must be broken down into steps with variation and shown to students.
How do you build a student's confidence in a subject?
I will show them the benefits of learning this subject and the effects it will have outside of the classroom. Also, I will express to them how it can be easy and fun to learn things within math to do better in other subjects and improve overall thought processes.
How do you adapt your tutoring to the student's needs?
Depending on how they respond to how I begin to tutor, I may need to alter how I am tutoring them. I have done this plenty of times before when the student prefers I break down the problems slowly instead of using repetition within examples.
What types of materials do you typically use during a tutoring session?
I typically use examples and chapter summaries online (while using the whiteboard). When in person, I print out examples from math texts and also create problems that relate to the student's issues on paper. (Also, I bring a graphing calculator if the student needs it.)