I'm Tom! I graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering before I got my Master's in Education. During my time in engineering school, I realized that what I loved most about engineering was modeling. There was something magical about being able to take something real and boil it down to simple and straight forward mathematical relationships, and I realized that becoming a teacher would allow me to share that with others. With this background, I am uniquely well suited to...
I'm Tom! I graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering before I got my Master's in Education. During my time in engineering school, I realized that what I loved most about engineering was modeling. There was something magical about being able to take something real and boil it down to simple and straight forward mathematical relationships, and I realized that becoming a teacher would allow me to share that with others. With this background, I am uniquely well suited to explaining where a math concept is used out in the world, and I can quickly mathematize a situation to show how a concept can apply to individual student interests.
I have been teaching middle and high school math for over ten years, and I have spent countless hours helping individual students find success and grow their skills. My methods are largely based on cutting edge brain research from Stanford University, and I carefully construct my lessons around exploratory tasks that allow students to discover mathematical relationships so that they own them, rather than just because a teacher told them so. After discovering new ideas or completing a series of tasks, I summarize lessons to ensure what students take away is solid in their minds, and provide opportunities for practice and refinforcement to ensure it's retained. Of course, these methods can be adjusted to student needs and learning styles.
Each tutoring session starts with a plan that we make together to meet your needs, with concrete tasks to address those needs, and a summary of lessons learned at the end. Students will get an electronic copy of what we did together at the end of each session. While I specialize in algebra and geometry, I have experience teaching all math subjects up through calculus. I am highly adaptable and care deeply about my students, and so I welcome any and all questions or suggestions. I am also easy to reach and respond quickly via email. Please feel free to reach out with any questions or to schedule a lesson!
