I am a PhD student in the clinical and bioanalytical chemistry program at Cleveland State, focusing on quantum and computational chemistry. Since May 2012 I have been working as a research intern at the Cleveland Clinic, focusing on the methionine to arginine single nucleotide polymorphism in exon 6 of the TNFRII gene. I have bachelors degrees in both math and chemistry, as well as 50+ credit hours at a graduate level. I have taught at a college level, and doing so has taught me how to actually communicate a subject to someone.
I currently tutor about 8-10 hours per week between my WyzAnt clients and people I've met outside of WyzAnt who are looking for help. This has taught me that everyone learns differently. However, I've found it is always important to understand material from the ground up. It's not helpful to teach someone to use a formula if there isn't any reasoning behind what the formula does, right?
As a current student myself, there is nothing more frustrating than when a question is asked of a professor, and instead of answering that question, they tangent off and answer a partially related question instead. If you aren't sure what is being asked, no student is going to be turned off if you ask for clarification. That is my approach.
My goal when tutoring isn't to make myself sound smart. I'm not going to try to talk over someone's head. That doesn't accomplish my goal, and it only leads to frustration from you. It might sound corny, but it really does feel good when a student says "You know, it would be nice if my professor would just say things in plain English like you do." It also feels good when a student reports an A on an exam when we've worked hard on the material.
I will always do my best to respond to any messages as quickly as possible. I always have my email with me on my phone, so I usually respond within an hour.
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