Astronomy professor specializing in physics and math

Meg T.

I've got a bachelor's degree in physics and a master's in astrophysics; I've been a college astronomy and physics professor for 25 years. I’ve taught high schoolers as well. For 13 years, I was the academic director of a precollege science program, and I taught astronomy for the program before that. During graduate school, I took time off to teach high school physics. My expertise is in astronomy and physics, but you can’t do either one without math. I'm qualified and comfortable teaching math, from geometry and algebra to introductory calculus.
Students learn by doing, not just by reading or listening to lectures. My students appreciate my hands-on approach, love of math and science, and willingness to help them outside of class. It’s okay if they don’t end up loving math and science, and they don’t need to become experts. I want to help students build their intuition and quantitative reasoning skills.
I have a student-centered approach to tutoring. I will start by getting to know the student, how they like to learn, and what their goals are. Then we’ll talk about their experience in class and the subject in general. We’ll explore what the student already knows, reinforce it and build on it. I’m particularly good at breaking problems down to simpler parts and explaining the hows and whys. My goal is for students to improve their problem-solving skills and gain a deeper understanding of the subject. More importantly, I help them increase their confidence in approaching all kinds of problems, familiar and unfamiliar, and becoming independent learners.