Jeremy
Certified Tutor
Undergraduate Degree: Cleveland State University - Current Undergrad, Mathematics
I love my motorcycle, I am interested in woodworking and also want to try blacksmithing. When the weather turns colder I enjoy video games and playing pool.
What is your teaching philosophy?
I believe that the purpose of an educator is to create students who are contributing members of society, to give them access to tools that they can use to improve their quality of life, and to teach them to question the way things are in the world in order to foster critical thinking skills on important social justice issues we find ourselves facing.
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
The first lesson with a student should be an opportunity to get to know each other. An educator should be able to assess the student's current progress, along with their strengths and weaknesses. From there they can start working to improve upon them. It is also very important to build a professional relationship so that a student can feel comfortable working with an educator.
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
If you can teach students to read mathematical notation and understand basic concepts fully, they can better utilize resources available to them to advance at their own pace.
How would you help a student stay motivated?
Any student can learn mathematics! It's just a matter of how far we have to go back to review prior material. I find a lot of my students have a math anxiety they've developed over the years and lack confidence in their abilities, but they should know every mathematician makes mistakes. The difference between a good mathematician and a bad mathematician is that the good one catches his mistakes eventually.
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
Back it up to the last concept. Mathematics builds upon itself, so if you're having trouble with a concept you may need to review the material that came beforehand.
What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?
By building a relationship with the student and taking notice of their strengths and weaknesses in the material and preparing proper lessons accordingly, I believe we can have rewarding sessions.