Hello my name is Isaac. My educational background includes a bachelor's in Construction Engineering and master's in Civil Engineering at Iowa State University (ISU). Upon graduation I entered the workforce as a geotechnical engineer and have 11.5 years field experience which requires high-level math and science. Currently, I hold a professional engineer license in the State of Iowa. As I reflect upon my education, I have the fondest memories of those teachers that had a passion for what they...
Hello my name is Isaac. My educational background includes a bachelor's in Construction Engineering and master's in Civil Engineering at Iowa State University (ISU). Upon graduation I entered the workforce as a geotechnical engineer and have 11.5 years field experience which requires high-level math and science. Currently, I hold a professional engineer license in the State of Iowa. As I reflect upon my education, I have the fondest memories of those teachers that had a passion for what they taught and desired to take the time for their students.
My teaching method is drawn from my father who was a community college professor for 30 years. He was passionate, funny, and drew much of his teaching lessons from his experience in the field of banking prior to becoming a teacher. I believe in order to keep students engaged in math you need to be passionate about it yourself or else they likely won't follow your lead. While some math students learn best by just "following the steps" and memorizing an algorithm I also understand some students need to know the answer to the question of "But why do I need to know this?". For those students I attempt to go out of my way to give real life examples of how they would use a particular mathematical principle either in their own lives or how the principle is applied and effects them in more of an indirect way. My hope is that by doing so they will be able to appreciate the topic and be able to move forward in engagement. Finally, I'm a big believer in the use of manipulatives (games, puzzles, etc.), whether online or hands-on, to teach math concepts. This is especially true for those students that are visual learners that desire a more informal learning experience in contrast to traditional textbook math exercises.
In the past year, I've logged 108 hours of one-on-one math tutoring experience with 13 students. Ten of the thirteen students were in high school having subjects of Algebra, Geometry, Algebra 2, Trigonometry, Pre-Calculus, and Calculus. I have also tutored one elementary student and two middle school students in elementary math and Pre-Algebra, respectively. Most of the time I have met my students at the local library in Ankeny, but on occasion I've met in students home if more convenient. I'm comfortable with both, what I call, reactive tutoring (guiding students through their school assigned math homework) and proactive tutoring (guiding students through a lesson which I have prepared beforehand). Approximately 65% of my tutoring sessions have been those I prepared beforehand (proactive) which I did this past summer with 5 students (one in elementary school, one in middle school, and three in high school) who were trying to stay sharp in their math skills prior to the coming school year.
I do request that if a student, or student's parent, desires for me to guide the student through their school assigned math homework, it is most helpful for me to have the teacher's assignment prior to my tutoring session so that I can review beforehand. This enables me to prepare accordingly and maximize the time I have with the student during the session. You will find that I am easy to get a hold of and I strive for excellent customer service in terms of attitude and response.
In addition to tutoring, I'm a homeschooling dad and have ongoing one-on-one experience with three kids (years 13, 10, and 8) helping them in their schoolwork.
One of my greatest pleasures is seeing students overcome their troubles with math! I look forward to working with your student.
