What is your teaching philosophy?

In all education, and especially in the sciences, understanding the relevance of the material is crucial to mastering it. I approach every student as an individual and find that, in the detail oriented world of science, understanding the big picture is crucial. Otherwise, we lose the forest for the trees and come out the other side of our education having memorized but not truly understood anything.

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

My first session always focuses on assessing student's goals and expectations. Based on those, we can make a study plan for our time together and for independent study to help guide students through the material they need to know. We will also cover study and organizational strategies to make the most out of our study time and, of course, begin covering some of the subject material.