
Kourtney
Certified Tutor
Undergraduate Degree: Washington State University - Bachelors, Environmental Science
Graduate Degree: Oregon Health & Science University - Current Grad Student, MPH Environmental Systems and Human Health
SAT Verbal: 730
GRE Quantitative: 154
GRE Verbal: 166
I enjoy reading sci-fi and fantasy books, talking with friends about the literary aspects of books, movies, and TV shows, as well as caring for my dog and three cats. Currently, my husband and I live in a townhouse with a postage stamp sized lawn, so I am unable to have a garden, except the multitude of plant pots I have on my front porch.
College English
Comparative Literature
Ecology
High School English
Life Sciences
What is your teaching philosophy?
Teachers must present information in a way to make it accessible to all who want to learn. Academic writing has its place, but it is not appropriate for spreading understanding to most people. It is important to be able to communicate knowledge to someone in a way that they will be able to understand, no matter their learning style. That is something I strive to be able to do.
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
That is partially going to depend on the subject, but first I will ask them what kind of help they are specifically looking for from me in the subject. Then I will let them know what they can expect in the session; for example, if I am helping someone with a paper I will go over the pedagogy I will use, such as reading the paper out loud to help catch mistakes or awkward phrasing and make sure they are comfortable with it. Finally, I will make sure to let them know every time, not just the first time, to interrupt if something doesn't make sense and needs to be explained in a different way.
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
Directing students to resources that they can access on their own is one of the best ways to encourage independent learning. For example, I always recommend certain websites to students who I am helping with their citation.
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
If the way that I was explaining a concept wasn't working for a student, then I would do some research outside of the tutoring session for alternate ways to learn that concept. I might try to find an explanation that involved some hands-on work or one that utilized images/graphs that I had not used previously. I would also look for different language to use, because while it can sometimes be easy to think in academic language once a concept is learned, wrapping one's mind around a concept that is shrouded in complex language can be extremely difficult.