Experience Summary
As a rising junior at Cornell University, I was asked to TA a Chemistry course for engineers. I accepted and entered into my first teaching position. Immediately, I knew teaching was right for me. Helping explain a complicated topic in a simple way and watch students get it is an amazing experience. I quickly signed up to TA 3 more courses next semester (Bio,Chem,CS). After graduation I continued teaching at KAAPrep. There I taught 1on1 and group lectures on math and science subjects and standardized tests like SAT2's and AP's. Lastly, I taught Organic Chemistry at the Weill medical school in the Middle East. I was born and lived in Russia until I was 11, so I am fluent in the language.
Teaching Style
I strongly believe in learning by doing. I have never given a lecture or taught something 1on1 without providing practice problems or peppering students with questions. The hardest part about this is getting students to understand that it is okay to ask and answer questions. Most students I have encountered are used to simply looking at the teacher but never really interacting with them. If I ask a question and nobody gets it, I rephrase it, reteach the section that led up to the question and generally try to understand why the question is not being answered. Aside from some initial amount of memorization, students need to learn how to think through concepts and ideas, and the best way to do that, regardless of subject, is ask them things.