I graduated this past spring from the Advanced Math and Science Academy in Marlborough, Massachusetts, and I start at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign this fall in the Grainger College of Engineering, studying computer engineering. I scored a 1550 on the digital SAT and earned 5s on all eight AP exams I took, including Calculus BC, Physics C: Mechanics, and Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism. I would like to tutor SAT preparation, high school math through calculus, and...
I graduated this past spring from the Advanced Math and Science Academy in Marlborough, Massachusetts, and I start at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign this fall in the Grainger College of Engineering, studying computer engineering. I scored a 1550 on the digital SAT and earned 5s on all eight AP exams I took, including Calculus BC, Physics C: Mechanics, and Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism. I would like to tutor SAT preparation, high school math through calculus, and introductory physics. These are the subjects where my preparation is most recent. For the SAT specifically, I took the current adaptive digital format rather than the older paper test, so I know the Bluebook interface, the two-stage module structure, and the embedded Desmos calculator well.
I have been tutoring for four years through my high school's peer academic support program, working mostly one on one with students in ninth through twelfth grade. Most sessions were math, from algebra and geometry through precalculus and calculus, and I also worked with physics students on rotational mechanics, momentum and energy, Kepler's laws, and electricity and magnetism. My approach is to diagnose before I teach. I start by having a student work a problem out loud so I can hear where the reasoning actually breaks down, because the mistake a student makes is rarely the one they think they are making. I like to work problems alongside them rather than lecturing, and I ask them to explain the method back to me before we move on. Verbal explanation is the strongest way to internalize a concept, and I have seen it work for myself and for many students I have tutored. For test preparation in particular, I rely heavily on error logs, since the same three or four question types tend to account for most of a student's lost points.
I also spent a season as a ski instructor at Nashoba Valley teaching group lessons to younger children, which taught me about pacing and about keeping a student engaged when frustrated.
