Introduction: Hi, I'm Patricia Babin and I have a PhD in biochemistry. I'm retired now, so I tutor students. I've actually had people say to me that they believed someone with a PhD would be less able to communicate chemistry or biology to high school students. They thought a person with a PhD would present concepts at too high a level. The truth is that, if you have a PhD, you better understand the subject matter really well. And if you understand it really well, then you should be able to communicate it in simple terms. I think that's why I'm able to help students so much. I really love my subject matter, I really understand it and I can explain in simple terms. Even as a graduate student working on my PhD, I won an award for outstanding teaching.
Just to clarify for college students, the only college chemistry course I tutor is general chemistry. General chemistry is usually a 2 semester course and it is the first course in chemistry for science majors. Please do not contact me about tutoring you in OTHER chemistry courses because I will be required to pay a service charge for the contact.
I never tell my students to just memorize chemistry. My motto is that students should understand chemistry so they don't have to memorize it. It's impossible to memorize your way through honors or AP chemistry, but that's what you're forced to do if you have a teacher or a tutor who doesn't give a great explanation.
I offer several advantages over most tutors beyond the obvious fact that I have more education in chemistry than most.
o First, unlike most tutors, I prepare in advance for all my meetings with my students so that they get the most benefit from their time with me.
o Second, I'm a visual learner and I know images help lots of students learn. Therefore, whenever it makes sense, I use images to help convey concepts.
o Third, within 5 minutes of the completion of a student's lesson, they receive a copy of the lesson we just completed. So students are not required to take notes during their lesson. In fact, I encourage them to just listen and learn.
o Fourth, students can choose to have their lessons recorded so that they can use the recorded lesson for review at a later date. There's no extra charge for this service.
I've invested in the equipment and software necessary for smooth, online tutoring. For my students, it's as if I'm in the classroom with them, writing on a whiteboard. That's really important - I want them focused on the concepts - not distracted by problems with online learning!!
Successful online education is about 2 things - great tools and more importantly, someone who can explain and teach the concepts in a way that makes things understandable for students. Not all online education is equal. Please read my reviews and you will see that.
In the summer I teach AP chemistry, AP biology, honors chemistry and honors biology for students who want to prepare for the next year.
