Experience Summary
I have been involved in tutoring chemistry to college students for over half of my life (>17 years). Since I began tutoring chemistry in my junior year of college, I knew that teaching was my calling. During college and graduate school, I received three awards for my efforts and tutoring success (Tutor of the Year, and Teaching Assistant of the Year). While working as a college chemistry professor, I read extensively on effective teaching methods and was very active in acquiring feedback from students on what they considered most effective and most helpful. Every subject has a few basic elements that when understood makes everything that follows easier to understand.
Teaching Style
First, and foremost, I attempt to work on the students' confidence. Whenever I tutor, I try to explain to the students that everything in a subject is about a few fundamental topics. Once these topics are understood everything becomes simpler. This applies from writing a paper to doing a math calculation to performing a physics problem. I try to understand the root cause of what is needed to improve the problem solving ability of the student. Then I try to see what method or process works best for the student to understand the material. I also try to leave a sense of support by providing references to material that can help advance the student knowledge.