20+ Years of Experience Specializing in Algebra

Kirsti H.

I graduated from SLU with a degree in elementary education. Later I completed my secondary math license in order to instruct middle school and high school math students. I have taught for 22 years; 17 of which have been teaching Algebra 1 and 2, Pre-Calculus and Quantitative Reasoning. I have also tutored students in Geometry. In 2018 I earned the “All In” Teacher of the Year award for my school. I believe that award was reflective of my approach to helping students.
My approach to teaching follows what I call the GNAW approach. By presenting concepts Graphically, Numerically, Algebraically and in Words(Applications) a student has many ways to connect with the content. I have found this to be a very successful method of teaching my students over the years. When a student can comprehend the concept through all 4 avenues they actually retain the information because they have a greater depth of understanding rather than trying to memorize a procedure which is easily forgotten within a weeks or months. Often times I begin teaching a skill/concept by first given the application/word problem to help the students connect to the real-world. In addition, I think it is important for the students to see how current topics connect to previously learned vocabulary, skills and concepts so that they are able to make sense of what they are learning.
Finally, when I tutor students who are not my own it is is my goal to apply the same approaches to the content they are learning. If they have homework they need assistance with I don’t simply tell them how to do the problem for completion but my goal is to give them the tools and understanding necessary to think about the content for themselves and to recognize patterns that are present.