Our Tutors In Kansas

Randy R

Teaching Style

Teaching is truly the joy of my life. I enjoy seeing students discover their gifts, and then watching them develop them. My philosophy of teaching is one of interaction rather than lecture. Students learn more effectively when they are partners in the learning experience. Reading comprehension and writing skills are both areas where students must feel a sense of ownership in learning. Also, technology has provided a unique platform for helping students feel empowered, and they are better able to take an active role. Teaching has evolved over the past thirty years from a passive experience on the part of the student to an active one. I am happy to be a teacher during a progressive age.

Experience Summary

I have a broad background as an educator. My years in the classroom as both an English teacher and an assistant principal have given me a unique perspective in both curriculum and the needs of the individual student. Following my public school years, I have taught freshman English composition at a local community college as well as served as a tutor to middle and high school students. I have enjoyed guiding students in improving their writing and analytical skills. I am also excited by the advantages of using the Internet as a teaching tool to a generation of technology-savvy students.

Redha R

Teaching Style

I teach by example and I am methodical. I show a student how to solve a problem by going very slowly and by following a sequence of steps. I make sure that the student follows understands each step before moving on to the next one. I then ask the student to solve almost the exact same problem (with a slight change in numbers for example)so that the student learns the method and how to solve the problem by herself/himself. I am very patient but expect the student to be willing to learn. I tell students that learning a subject matter is more important than getting an A in a class - this is because 1. if you learn, chances are you won't forget (at least for a long while) and 2. you will get a good grade as a result.

Experience Summary

I have been employed by the IBM corporation for the last 27 years. I held numerous positions in hardware development, software development, telecommunication network development, project management, solution architecture, performance analysis, and others. As much as I enjoy my job, I have passion in Mathematics. I develop new ideas related to my work and expand them into U.S. patents and external technical papers. I informally tutor family and friends attending high school or college. I was a Mathematics teaching assistant at the Univ. of Pittsburgh for 2 years and at the Univ. of Michigan at Ann Arbor for 3 years. I love teaching and sharing my knowledge with others. I have published numerous technical papers and hold numerous U.S. patents as well.

Erin E

Teaching Style

While attending Northeastern Illinois University, I worked as a Peer Leader for one year for their Peer Led Team Learning (PLTL) program. This consisted of me tutoring a group of students in a one credit hour Organic Chemistry seminar class during the Spring and Fall 2004 semesters. Instead of a traditional tutoring setting, I guided the activities of groups of 10-15 students in weekly seminar formatted meetings. I encouraged the students by initiating questions and discussions that led to conceptual understanding of current class material, often times encouraging the students to explain what they knew to others in the class. I also attended weekly meetings with professor of the corresponding organic chemistry class to review seminar materials and to communicate problems or issues. I also kept a weekly journal documenting the seminar issues and progress and communicated any problems and concerns to the class professor. This was a paid position. Additionally, in May of 2004, I was chosen by the Chemistry Department Head to assist in PLTL workshop training at a teaching symposium at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and later that month was also chosen to attend Chautauqua Short Courses at California State University to assist in PLTL workshop training. These courses were designed to train college professors in the PLTL method of tutoring, enabling them to start a program at their own school.

Experience Summary

I have earned two bachelor's degrees, a BS in Chemistry (4.0 GPA) and a BA in Communications, and I have 12 years experience as a paralegal and legal secretary. I have excellent verbal and written communications skills, organizational skills and an outstanding work ethic, which are a great asset in tutoring. I have tutored in organic chemistry and also helped many students in my classes while working towards my chemistry degree. I enjoy helping people understand chemistry and also believe that in teaching, it only solidifies your own knowledge of the subject matter.

Joon J

Teaching Style

I am a huge proponent of the dialectic and Socratic methods of teaching, while recognizing the need for the didactic to learn the basic methods of academics. My own experience, as well as my background in Psychology, helps me recognize that learning must be relevant, interesting, and conducted in a highly accepting and supportive environment. I am keenly aware of the sense of inadequacy of students who come to tutoring services (I have been one myself in the past) and make special care to make all my students feel that improvement is possible for anyone. The knowledge and strategies that high performers utilize are not exclusive; anyone can learn with patience and the right tutor!

Experience Summary

I am a current teacher for the Princeton Review for the SAT (soon also for the GRE and GMAT), as well as a former tutor for Huntington Learning Center (SAT). A score of 1400 on the SAT allows me the credibility to teach, while a self-awareness allows me to understand the mechanisms and strategies that have allowed me this success. As a recipient of two bachelor degrees, in Biochemistry and Psychology, I am uniquely positioned to help students on a variety of subjects. My curriculum included Biology, Biochemistry, Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Physics, Math, and a litany of Psychology courses, including the Psychology of Learning.

Patti P

Teaching Style

Education is the most valuable asset we can provide to our children. Each student is unique and needs to be taught in a manner that brings out their strengths to conquer weaknesses. Every student has the opportunity and ability to learn, though tapping into how each student learns may be a challenge. I believe students at any age are inquisitive by nature and should be able to follow a staircase of "why's" until all the "why's" are answered. Constructive feedback through encouragement is a great way to keep a child inquisitive and feel a sense of accomplishment.

Experience Summary

Working in the field of public safety as a supervisor, I have written numerous training manuals and taught adults in report writing, field training, National Incident Management Systems, Incident Command Systems, Taser Weapons Technology, and Basic Security classes. I have been employed for 10 years with the county and recently graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Business Management. My long term goals are to teach at a university and I am currently working to earn an MBA. While in college, I have tutored students in all areas of the degrees I was seeking, including Statistics, various levels of Math, Finance, and College Writing. I often edit student papers for grammar, spelling, and formatting issues for their final drafts.

Douglas D

Teaching Style

I find that demonstration though example is the first step to understanding. This allows for an initial exposure to the material and plants seeds of knowledge. Adjuvant to demonstration, motivation and enthusiasm to learn the material must be taught. All the homework in the world cannot replace this! Regrettably, students often struggle due to poor instruction or vague textbooks which erode a student’s motivation. Fortunately this can be overcome with a little outside assistance. My long term goal of teaching is to foster a mature understanding of the subject matter. To master a subject it must be learned from multiple angles before the bigger picture is illuminated. Once a subject is illuminated it must be continually revisited for long-term retention.

Experience Summary

To me education is a way of life. My academic career has been driven by a thirst for knowledge. I have earned a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering, during which my math, physics, biology, engineering (mechanical and electrical), and other science skills were cultivated. Afterward, I spent another year pursuing a M.S. in Biomedical Engineering, which further strengthened those skills. During this program I was contracted to teach biomedical computer science for sophomore level students. With higher academic hopes, I left the M.S. program, to complete a Ph.D. in Biophysics with an emphasis on MRI physics. My multi-disciplinary doctoral training had a heavy emphasis on math, physics, and biologic sciences. The doctoral training greatly increased my reading comprehension and vocabulary, as well as, strengthened my grammar and writing skills, which were needed to produce scientific publications. Throughout this training I gave lectures to graduate, undergraduate, and high school students on MR physics.

Robert R

Teaching Style

My approach to tutoring was to start from the beginning of the subject being taught and determine where the students had a problem and what the weaknesses were. With accounting and finance, I found the best method of teaching was the repetitive completion of problems with the student doing the work with minimal direction, with my help only when needed. This built confidence, which often was the major problem, and helped them learn and understand the subject matter.

Experience Summary

As a graduate student at Hofstra University, I had the opportunity to tutor undergraduate students full-time in accounting and finance while earning my degree. Being older than those I instructed, I was also able to provide career advice when needed. Having extensive experience, and being an above average performer, the program director entrusted me with a heavier workload than the others. My passion and enthusiasm was evident to those I taught and enabled me to excel.

Robin R

Teaching Style

I am a very energetic person and try to bring that to everything that I do. I am also very concerned with providing students with an understanding of the concept behind what they are learning and what the real-world applications of those concepts are. I feel that it is the key to engage students by making them see the benefits of their education in the long run.

Experience Summary

I have recently graduated from the University of Richmond with a degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. I am looking forward to helping others expand their knowledge in the area of science. I have tutored high school students in chemistry and biology, and have gain knowledge of both fields through my degree in biochemistry, enabling me to be versatile in subject matter.