Joyce
Certified Tutor
Undergraduate Degree: University of St Thomas - Bachelors, Biology, General
Graduate Degree: University of North Texas Health Science Center - Masters, Biomedical Sciences
ACT Science: 31
GRE: 309
GRE Quantitative: 152
GRE Verbal: 157
Cooking, dancing, and rescuing animals
10th Grade
10th Grade Reading
10th Grade Writing
11th Grade Reading
11th Grade Writing
12th Grade Reading
1st Grade
1st Grade Math
2nd Grade
2nd Grade Math
2nd Grade Writing
3rd Grade
3rd Grade Math
3rd Grade Reading
3rd Grade Science
3rd Grade Writing
4th Grade
4th Grade Math
4th Grade Reading
5th Grade
5th Grade Science
6th Grade
6th Grade Math
6th Grade Reading
6th Grade Science
6th Grade Writing
7th Grade Math
7th Grade Reading
7th Grade Science
7th Grade Writing
8th Grade
8th Grade Math
8th Grade Science
9th Grade Writing
Academic Coaching
Adult Literacy
Anatomy & Physiology
Cell Biology
College Biology
Elementary School
Elementary School Math
Elementary School Reading
Elementary School Science
Elementary School Writing
Evolutionary Biology
General Biology
Handwriting
High School Biology
High School Chemistry
High School English
High School Writing
Life Sciences
Medical Terminology
Medicine
Middle School Reading
Middle School Science
Middle School Writing
Other
Spelling Bee
Study Skills
What is your teaching philosophy?
I believe it is important to first help students identify their greatest strengths as a learner, and which learning style they are most receptive to. Some students prefer listening to topic reviews, seeing diagrams, or working through problems. Regardless of the learning style of students, I aim to provide the student with tools to help them gain confidence in mastering the topics at hand.
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
In a first session with a student, I will gain an understanding of the student's immediate and long-term goals, and learning style.
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
I would first introduce a student to free resources at the library or online and emphasize they should first start with a clear understanding of their goals. After a student knows what their learning objectives are and has covered the material, I suggest creating practice questions.
How would you help a student stay motivated?
To help a student stay motivated, I can remind them of their former accomplishments and remind them of the joys of mastering new material.
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
After presenting similar concepts or analogies for the student, I would ask the student to then explain the concept or demonstrate the skill again and see if they have gained a better understanding.
How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?
First, I will ask the student to interpret what they understand from a passage and then review the passage with them. For sections the student is struggling with, I will go over alternative ways of expressing the same idea and ask the student to practice summarizing it in their own words.
What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?
I have found it is useful and effective to draw diagrams and connect many small ideas in order to explain comprehensive concepts. When students are able to understand why the smaller tasks or concepts are important in the overall theme, I find they are more excited about learning.
How would you help a student get excited/engaged with a subject that they are struggling in?
Finding practical applications for the subjects that relate to the student's interests can help engage them more. For example, if a student is interested in fast cars and is struggling with algebra, then I will review practice problems related to driving cars or comparing their costs and features.
What techniques would you use to be sure that a student understands the material?
For science related topics, I would ask a student to design an experiment or present a topic to me that demonstrates their mastery of the material. For math topics, I would ask a student to work backwards and solve a similar problem with new numbers or variables. For English or writing topics, I would ask the student to interpret reading material that they are interested in and synthesize an appropriate writing sample.
How do you build a student's confidence in a subject?
For the many small goals that we will accomplish as we reach milestones along their educational journey, I will provide encouragement and positive feedback. I think it is important to remind the student that their continued attitude of trying and not giving up is already a great achievement in itself.
How do you evaluate a student's needs?
I evaluate a student's needs by reviewing their homework, tests, study habits, notes, and goals. For a student who seems to struggle with note-taking, I may suggest alternatives and study tips to prepare them for lectures. If a student mentions they could not keep up with a teacher's presentation, then I can review the material with them and present it both verbally and with diagrams.
How do you adapt your tutoring to the student's needs?
I regularly ask students if they are comfortable and ready to move forward to working on the next goal before finishing the first task at hand. I ask students about their first priority and most immediate academic goals and address these in the beginning in order to devote more time and attention to these.
What types of materials do you typically use during a tutoring session?
In my own academic career, I preferred to use class PowerPoints, textbooks, and occasionally have found some well organized websites useful for reviewing material. For tutoring sessions, I will typically use paper and pen for concepts that the student may wish to keep as reference, and a dry erase board with markers for practice problems if the student prefers to use this method as well. I may also use my laptop to direct the student to online sources that I found helpful, or I refer to my textbooks.