FAQs
- What should the customer know about your pricing (e.g., discounts, fees)?
I charge $50 / hour for all help with classes. Math or Science, as well as High School or College I charge $75 / hour or $100 / 1.5 hours for Standardized Test Prep. SAT, ACT, SAT2s, etc. I have all the necessary study materials for students to borrow (although some students may want to purchase their own book and keep it) I also am willing to give a discount when paying for a package of sessions. Please contact me for details if you are interested.
- What is your typical process for working with a new customer?
When it comes to the format of our sessions, my tutoring classes tends to fall into one of two major categories: Test Prep tutoring (SAT, ACT, SAT2s, HSPT etc.) or tutoring to help a student through a specific class (this includes a wide range of high school as well as college, math and science classes). They each have their own unique process for working with a new costumer so I will describe them separately. When it comes to test preparation, we typically start by having the student complete some diagnostic sections for me (preferably while I am present) and/or by going through their previous test results. After I get a sense for the student, we all sit down and discuss the variables: the student’s strengths and weaknesses, which sections will be faster to improve and which will be slower, how much time we have for the prep and what we are looking for (in terms of a goal score, colleges etc.). From all that we put together an individualized plan. Over the years I have found that students can benefit greatly from an individualized plan, and that the topics we want to focus on for one student are not the same as for another student. In fact, this idea has become central to my approach to standardized test prep. Now, for most of the students who come see me for help with a particular class, we start by going over any recent class materials/assignments/tests that have been challenging to them. By starting here, not only are we able to immediately focus on what is presently giving the student trouble in class, but I am able to assess their strengths and weaknesses as we work through that material. From there we go back and address any missing "gaps" in their previous education that might be causing issues with the current topic. Some of my students only come for a handful of sessions in order to get through a difficult part in their class or to work through some mathematical “gaps” they have but many students set up a regular weekly session with me, in tandem with their class. This is so that we can discuss any new class material as it arrives to ensure the student really has a full conceptual understanding going forward.
- What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
In high school I was drawn to math and science, especially physics. So, naturally, when I got to Lewis and Clark College I found myself pursuing a physics major. However, after a couple years at a liberal arts school that encouraged its students to take classes in all fields, I found that I was becoming increasingly interested in psychology. From there, my initial interest in psychology blossomed into a real desire to study the subject and ended with a double major in both physics and psychology. It is this desire to understand how the human brain works that has allowed me to become a successful teacher. In college, as I was going through my own education, I was also studying how the brain itself learns. It was during this part of my college experience that I came to understand the link between understanding what/why you are doing something and remembering it. I do not believe in teaching through drilling problems/blind repetition/flash cards etc. Instead, I focus a lot of my teaching on reinforcing a greater conceptual understanding of the material because I believe it leads to greater retention of the material.