Hello! My name is Brenda. I am an experienced educator and have a current professional level teacher certification in special education for K - 12th grades. As a requirement of the Maine certification, the State of Maine conducts background checks and indicates the status on the certification. I am happy to share a viewing of my certification which indicates my passing the background check with my clients. I also have over 15 years of teaching experience at the college level. I love the challenge of individualizing learning to meet a student's specific needs. My goal is the student's success without stress! I am quite adept interacting with students of all ages, having taught at the preschool, elementary, and college levels of education.
I have a Masters degree in Education with two majors, one in teaching students with learning disabilities and the other in teaching students with behavioral issues. I also have a degree in Psychology and apply research from psychology when teaching to identify motivational and learning techniques to unlock a student's potential. I first identify individual learning strengths. I follow this up by the use of strategies that break down learning tasks into smaller manageable pieces that are specific to a student's learning style and needs. My goal is for learning new things to become a chain of manageable confidence-building successes.
At the preschool level, I offer tutoring in language and vocabulary development, reading readiness, prewriting, math, and social skills. I use a combination of focused play, movement, and table sitting to build attention, pre-academic skills and on task behaviors. I use the State of Maine Early Learning Guidelines to identify gaps in a preschooler's learning and development. I then teach those skills to prepare for kindergarten entrance using developmentally appropriate practices that will appeal to preschoolers.
At the elementary level, I offer tutoring in language arts, including reading, writing, spelling, and vocabulary development; math, science and study skills in the content areas. I also offer homework support and the use of computers and other technology. As I begin with new students, I identify their learning style and specific gaps in knowledge and skills. These areas of need then become our work plan, using their learning style and strengths to maximize learning successes. Often the child might benefit from a multisensory approach to learning. This involves presenting information in a way that uniquely stimulates all of their senses to maximize their intake and retention of new information. One of the "Light Bulb" moments that I love is when I help students figure out "how to learn". Getting them organized and showing them how to study so they can understand and remember what they learn is so rewarding AND a confidence booster for them.
At the high school and college levels, I offer tutoring in reading, writing, math, study and organization techniques, test taking strategies, psychology, sociology, and homework support. My many years of teaching and advising college students makes me well prepared to assist students to prepare for college entrance exams, including the ACT and SAT. I have served on college application committees evaluating the written essays most colleges require as part of the admissions procedures. I also provide coaching with all the "insider's tips" to the application process to schools and financial aid and making the many important decisions prior to college entrance. After acceptance there are other critical activities to prepare for both academic and social success while in college. I often hear college students saying, "If I only had known about...XXXX...before I started classes, I would have been happier and my grades would have been better. I can help ease that process by helping students to anticipate and avoid those stressful events. To prepare for life after graduation I can help navigate the process of the job search, writing resumes and preparing for interviews. I enjoy helping students understand the higher level critical thinking skills that will make them successful in their courses and careers. I enjoy coaching students along the various phases of writing successful papers, from planning, researching, drafting, editing, to the final writing. I assist students in developing portfolios of written work and other projects which many high schools and colleges now require. These portfolios can be very useful to highlight experience and strengths during a job search.
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