Experience Summary
I have done student teaching at the high school level in Math, specifically, Geometry and Trigonometry. I created innovative new ways to use the materials on hand to reawaken students' natural mathematical curiosity and to exemplify the concepts of the courses. I have done one semester of long term substitute work in which I taught underprivileged children Physics and Physical Science. I had to design the curriculum from the ground up because they had rotating substitutes before I took over. Beyond that, I have taught numerous and varied college labs and recitations in the UNC physics department, and I have tutored for those same classes. I have also recently started tutoring high school students in the area.
Teaching Style
My teaching style is a mixture of direct instruction and discovery based learning whose components depend on the student(s) at hand. I've been known to make generalized lesson plans and improvise as I go, because every class is different, and too strict of a plan is destructive and boring for the students. Students typically need things explained to them in many different ways to garner a solid understanding of any topic, but especially upper level math and physics. Therefore, I pride myself on using any props, explanations, or examples that I can come up with to get the point across. At the same time, I tailor each lesson to the speed of the student(s) and the time constraints of the situation, varying the amount of direct vs. discovery learning accordingly, and making sure that the lines of communication between myself and the student are wide open so I can continually assess their progress and move on from there.