Experience Summary
Throughout high school and college, I belonged to several tutoring organizations. I took multiple extra classes on education and tutoring techniques at Cal Poly. My senior project researched the process in which adolescents first learn to think abstractly.
Stanford's STEP program was an intense year which prepared me very well for classroom teaching. My colleagues continually asked for copies of my original lesson plans. Many students thanked me for helping them "finally get math."
I have enjoyed the last 5 years of teaching. I would be teaching this year, but the timing of my recent marriage and move would have made a full time teaching position awkward. I hope to continue helping students become more confident in their math skills.
Teaching Style
I love helping a student come to a mathematical conclusion on his/her own. My 7th graders discovered the distributive prop through an investigation about theater seats. I also remember showing my Alg2 students why borrowing works using $1, $10, and $100 bills and trading with the bank. They were so excited to finally understand subtraction. What a thrill for me!
However, when a frustrated Junior was having trouble calculating determinants correctly, it simply didn’t make sense to start at the beginning and help her discover how determinants work.
When tutoring, I try to invest time in helping students fully understand concepts when it makes sense to. But I do keep in mind that traditional methods are sometimes the better choice.