Our Tutors

Katherine K

Teaching Style

Throughout my teaching experience I have encountered students of all ages and abilities, from high school students with learning differences to adult learners of ESL. I believe each student is unique and brings their own set of experiences and strengths to the material to be learned, necessitating an adaptable teaching style. I am experienced in the communicative approach and believe each students learns best through discovery and by utilizing their particular intelligence. I am patient, relaxed and treat each student with respect. I think students learn best when they are having fun and have a trusting relationship with their teacher.

Experience Summary

While working towards my bachelors degree in English (with a minor in Political Science), I worked as a substitute teacher in the public school system for a year and a half, in order to ascertain my affinity for many different levels and subjects. My writing and grammatical skills are excellent; in 2004 I was awarded First Place in Undergraduate Writing at the University of North Florida. My first professional teaching experience complemented my areas of expertise perfectly: I taught English as a Foreign Language to business professionals in Argentina for six months, using the communicative approach. During this time I learned much about South American politics and culture, as well as the Spanish language. Upon return I taught English to high school students for one year at a private school for students with learning disabilities and emotional/ behavioral problems. This summer, I have again taught international students at a Berlitz ESL program, ELS Language Center. Throughout the years I have also tutored and worked with students one on one many times, specifically with rudimentary reading and writing.

Lindsey L

Teaching Style

Everyone will tell you that there are three major types of learning styles: Visual Learners, Auditory Learners, and Tactile/Kinesthetic (hands on) Learners. In my experience as a student and a tutor, most people have a main learning style but actually learn best through a combination of all three. My goal when tutoring is to figure out what each students main learning style is, so I can present the information in a way that they will be academically successful. I use a mixture of Audio, Visual and Hands-On methods. People also retain information best when they teach it to someone else, so I have my students explain to me what was covered.

Experience Summary

I have earned a bachelor degree in Business Administration emphasis in Accounting and a minor in Business Law from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. While earning my degree I tutored at the Learning Resource Center - ASI Peer Tutoring Program. From October 2005 - June 2007, I tutored college peers in Accounting, Finance, Statistics, Computer Information Systems, and Technology & Operations Management. After Graduation I continued to tutor as a private tutor, since I had to be a student to tutor at the Learning Resource Center.

Paul P

Teaching Style

For various reasons, we all learn in different ways. Often times this is difficult to address in a classroom setting, forcing teachers to address skills by giving particular instructions (how to write a paper, how to solve an equation, etc.) thereby making education a project of memorization more so than understanding. I believe it is important for students to grasp the broad concepts of their subject manner, through their particular learning style, then applying these to specific objects as opposed to the other way around. This not only allows for students to achieve in various exercises, but creates a context by which students can relate to their subject, thus internalizing it and creating a solid foundation to move forward from.

Experience Summary

Educationally, I have a BA in Mathematics from Vassar College, a school where I achieved a high level of success graduating with high honors both generally and within my major. While this gives me the mastery necessary to approach all levels of math up to the graduate level, my teaching experience makes it possible for me to convey those subjects to my students. I began working one on one with students while teaching guitar in high school and since then have continued to facilitate students' learning at various levels. Most recently I've pursued experiential education working with kids on farms, backpacking trips, and canoe expeditions. I apply this hands on approach to education in the classroom as well, one that I found successful while teaching Linear Algebra to college freshmen my senior year.

Melissa M

Teaching Style

My teaching style is very hands on. I believe in using lots of manipulatives so the children can discover on their own what is being done. I believe that children learn best when lessons or activities are about something they are interested in. I try to get to know my students and plan lessons that they will be engaged in and enjoy doing. I never give up on my students and know they can learn anything when given the right environment.

Experience Summary

I graduated from Kent State University in December of 2006 with a bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education. Along with my course work I was placed in 4 very different, semester long, student teaching/field experience settings. In doing so I was able to put the theories and information I was learning in my class work to practice. Since graduation I worked in a child care center, working with toddlers for 6 months, an assistant director of a summer camp for 3 months during the summer (which was my fifth year working there), and am currently substitute teaching. I started out substitute teaching at the beginning of the 2007-2008 school year going to various elementary classrooms throughout the district of Akron Public Schools. Currently I am a long term substitute for a fifth grade classroom at Voris Elementary for the remainder of the school year.

Parth P

Teaching Style

In my own studies I have learned the importance of gaining a firm grasp of fundamental knowledge in order to apply it to situations that one has never encountered. This style of learning is at the forefront of science and mathematics. During tutoring, I make sure that the students have properly attained the fundamental knowledge and avoid teaching only how to solve specific problems or answer specific homework/test questions. By tutoring in this manner, students have had great success in solving problems or answering questions on midterms and final exams. Assisting students achieve mastery in applying basic concepts to unfamiliar situations is crucial in unlocking their potential as they do not have to "memorize" their way through college, especially when it comes to science and math courses.

Experience Summary

Having graduated as a Phi Beta Kappa Scholar from UNC-Chapel Hill, I have always achieved a level of excellence in education. I have earned two bachelor of science (B.S.) degrees in Biology and Chemistry. As a result of achieving mastery in these areas, I have tutored students in subjects such as Genetics, Biochemistry, Organic Chemistry, Physics and Calculus. Through tutoring, I have learned that it helps me enrich my own knowledge about the subject matter thus, allowing me to approach concepts/problems in different ways.

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.

Janette J

Teaching Style

I believe each child in unique, therefore each child has their unique learning style. Therefore, I tend to provide a variety of learning methods. If one method isn't understood, I move on to another one. I think learning should be fun, so I will occasionally play learning games where students feel relaxed while learning. I always provide rewards and incentives to encourage participation and increase self-esteem. One of the most important things I believe children need to succeed is a positive sense of self. When a child feels frustrated or hopeless they are less likely to want to improve. I begin praising at the students current level of acheivement and then continue throughout the entire tutoring process!

Experience Summary

I am currently a tutor for a public school system. I tutor students who are at or below their current grade level. I hold a license in Early Childhood Education- K to 3rd grades. My reading tutoring involves phonemic awareness, sightwords, word attack strategies, comprehension and fluency. When I tutor math I use a variety of math concepts, manipulative, flashcards, worksheets. I am willing to collaborate with teachers to enhance classroom learning and homework skills. I have many years of experience educating children in private Preschool and Kindergarten settings. I have also earned a bachelors degree in Family and Consumer Studies with a concentration in Child Development.

Gary G

Teaching Style

My teaching style has been, for the most part, dictated by student response. I am comfortable teaching in a traditional lecture format, in a format that uses a cooperative learning approach exclusively, or in a hybrid format. The goal is for effective learning to take place, and I believe my strongest quality is to be able to adapt in such a way that best helps students reach their academic goals.

Experience Summary

For eight years, I taught freshman and sophomore-level mathematics courses at Arizona State University. These courses included College Algebra, Pre-Calculus, Calculus, Finite Mathematics, and Elementary Mathematics Theory. Additionally, I have tutored students in these courses both in the Mathematics Department Tutor Center, and on my own personal time.