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Brenda C.

Hi! My name is Brenda. Let's work together on your learning goals.

Hi! My name is Brenda. Let's work together on your learning goals.

$60/hour

5.0 (728 ratings)

  • 1,856 hours tutoring

About Brenda

Bio

Hello! My name is Brenda. I am an experienced educator and have a current professional level teacher certification in special education for K - 12th grades. As a requirement of the Maine certification, the State of Maine conducts background checks and indicates the status on the certification. I am happy to share a viewing of my certification which indicates my passing the background check with my clients. I also have over 15 years of teaching experience at the college level. I love the...

Hello! My name is Brenda. I am an experienced educator and have a current professional level teacher certification in special education for K - 12th grades. As a requirement of the Maine certification, the State of Maine conducts background checks and indicates the status on the certification. I am happy to share a viewing of my certification which indicates my passing the background check with my clients. I also have over 15 years of teaching experience at the college level. I love the challenge of individualizing learning to meet a student's specific needs. My goal is the student's success without stress! I am quite adept interacting with students of all ages, having taught at the preschool, elementary, and college levels of education.

I have a Masters degree in Education with two majors, one in teaching students with learning disabilities and the other in teaching students with behavioral issues. I also have a degree in Psychology and apply research from psychology when teaching to identify motivational and learning techniques to unlock a student's potential. I first identify individual learning strengths. I follow this up by the use of strategies that break down learning tasks into smaller manageable pieces that are specific to a student's learning style and needs. My goal is for learning new things to become a chain of manageable confidence-building successes.

At the preschool level, I offer tutoring in language and vocabulary development, reading readiness, prewriting, math, and social skills. I use a combination of focused play, movement, and table sitting to build attention, pre-academic skills and on task behaviors. I use the State of Maine Early Learning Guidelines to identify gaps in a preschooler's learning and development. I then teach those skills to prepare for kindergarten entrance using developmentally appropriate practices that will appeal to preschoolers.

At the elementary level, I offer tutoring in language arts, including reading, writing, spelling, and vocabulary development; math,

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Education

University of Southern Maine, Gorham
Psychology
Keene State College Keene, NH
MEd

Policies

Schedule

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Sat

Subjects

Business

Microsoft Word

Computer

Computer Science,

Computer Science

To summarize, I have over 20 years of extensive personal and professional experience with computer applications in word processing, web browsing, and gaming applications. I have a Masters degree in Education with over 20 years teaching. In addition, I have completed a college level 3 credit course in Computer Technology (final grade A) and many inservices and on-the-job training by certified computer personnel. As a supervisor and/or a teacher whose employees/students use computers in their daily tasks, I have trained employees/students in the previously described computer applications.
General Computer, Microsoft Word

Corporate Training

General Computer, Grammar, Microsoft Word

Elementary Education

Elementary (K-6th),

Elementary (K-6th)

I have a Masters degree in Special Education with 2 majors, one teaching students with learning disabilities and the other major in teaching students with behavioral issues. I possess a current professional level State of Maine certification for grades K - 12. I am an experienced educator with over 25 years of teaching experience. My instructional focus with young children is to individualize reading, language arts/writing, and/or math instruction to accommodate each child's style of learning. We progress through building the sequential reading, language arts/writing and math skills for the early elementary level. I then progress into the application of these skills to the content areas of science, social studies, etc. at the upper elementary grade level, adding organization and study skills instruction.
Phonics,

Phonics

I am a certified special education teacher for kindergarten to 12th grades and have used many approaches for literacy skill development. I am familiar with the Wilson Reading and the Pinnell & Fountas programs. When I teach reading, writing, and spelling, I systematically introduce a skill and then follow with fun activities so the child can practice it and build his/her competence. I strive to keep these skill building activities fun, interesting, and relevant for the child. As a child's phonemic awareness and phonetic skills builds, I progress to building fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension skills. I love to share the wonderful world of reading and open the door to learning about all kinds of things a child might be interested in.
Study Skills,

Study Skills

After over 20 years as a certified teacher of elementary, high school and college students, I have helped many students become successful learners. This involves being able to use effective study skills. This encompasses strategies for managing time to accomplish all that is required to be done within a given timeframe. Making good use of allotted time can be applied to short periods of time, such as doing homework, during a classroom test or other exams like the SAT, ACT, GED or ASVAB. Time management techniques are also useful when you have long term projects that can be days or weeks long. Organizing your schedule and environment leads to positive studying habits. There are many study techniques, such as the SQ3R, that help maximize retention of information. These techniques use cognitive research results to help increase memory and ensure newly learned material is truly learned for the long term and not just for the moment. Memory tips surely come in handy when having to remember large amounts of information! Test taking strategies can improve not only final test scores, but also can ease the stress of test taking. Knowing ahead of time what to expect and how to approach the task of taking that test helps to minimize test anxiety. This in turn paves the way for clear thinking and memory retrieval leading to positive test scores. Strategies for increasing reading comprehension increases long term learning. There are many different types of reading required in our daily lives. Some work requires close reading for detail, while other reading requires reading for more global understanding. Knowing strategies for different types of reading and blending these with an individual's learning style can lead to greater levels of reading comprehension. Lastly, notetaking skills enhance listening and reading comprehension, but also organizes information for later use, i.e., review and studying for tests. As an experienced educator with a master's degree, I can help you combine all these study skills to incr
Elementary Math, Elementary Science, Grammar, Reading, Spelling, Vocabulary

English

ACT English, ACT Reading, English, Grammar, Reading, SAT Reading, SAT Writing, Spelling, Vocabulary, Writing

History

Sociology

Sociology

I am well qualified to tutor in sociology. I am a certified teacher and have a master's degree in education and 15 years as a faculty member teaching social sciences at the college level. One of these social sciences was sociology. I taught undergraduate courses ranging from introductory survey courses to specific courses which included topics ranging from society and social structures, stratification, social classes, and equality/inequality; as well as diversity and deviance, the social institutions of family, education, economics, politics, religion. Each of these courses was arranged around the prominent sociologists research and their sociological views of people's behavior.

Homeschool

Elementary (K-6th),

Elementary (K-6th)

I have a Masters degree in Special Education with 2 majors, one teaching students with learning disabilities and the other major in teaching students with behavioral issues. I possess a current professional level State of Maine certification for grades K - 12. I am an experienced educator with over 25 years of teaching experience. My instructional focus with young children is to individualize reading, language arts/writing, and/or math instruction to accommodate each child's style of learning. We progress through building the sequential reading, language arts/writing and math skills for the early elementary level. I then progress into the application of these skills to the content areas of science, social studies, etc. at the upper elementary grade level, adding organization and study skills instruction.
Study Skills,

Study Skills

After over 20 years as a certified teacher of elementary, high school and college students, I have helped many students become successful learners. This involves being able to use effective study skills. This encompasses strategies for managing time to accomplish all that is required to be done within a given timeframe. Making good use of allotted time can be applied to short periods of time, such as doing homework, during a classroom test or other exams like the SAT, ACT, GED or ASVAB. Time management techniques are also useful when you have long term projects that can be days or weeks long. Organizing your schedule and environment leads to positive studying habits. There are many study techniques, such as the SQ3R, that help maximize retention of information. These techniques use cognitive research results to help increase memory and ensure newly learned material is truly learned for the long term and not just for the moment. Memory tips surely come in handy when having to remember large amounts of information! Test taking strategies can improve not only final test scores, but also can ease the stress of test taking. Knowing ahead of time what to expect and how to approach the task of taking that test helps to minimize test anxiety. This in turn paves the way for clear thinking and memory retrieval leading to positive test scores. Strategies for increasing reading comprehension increases long term learning. There are many different types of reading required in our daily lives. Some work requires close reading for detail, while other reading requires reading for more global understanding. Knowing strategies for different types of reading and blending these with an individual's learning style can lead to greater levels of reading comprehension. Lastly, notetaking skills enhance listening and reading comprehension, but also organizes information for later use, i.e., review and studying for tests. As an experienced educator with a master's degree, I can help you combine all these study skills to incr
Algebra 1, Algebra 2, Biology, English, Geometry, Prealgebra, Reading, SAT Math, SAT Reading, Spelling, Writing

Math

ACT Math, Algebra 1, Algebra 2, Geometry, Prealgebra, SAT Math

Most Popular

Elementary (K-6th),

Elementary (K-6th)

I have a Masters degree in Special Education with 2 majors, one teaching students with learning disabilities and the other major in teaching students with behavioral issues. I possess a current professional level State of Maine certification for grades K - 12. I am an experienced educator with over 25 years of teaching experience. My instructional focus with young children is to individualize reading, language arts/writing, and/or math instruction to accommodate each child's style of learning. We progress through building the sequential reading, language arts/writing and math skills for the early elementary level. I then progress into the application of these skills to the content areas of science, social studies, etc. at the upper elementary grade level, adding organization and study skills instruction.
Study Skills,

Study Skills

After over 20 years as a certified teacher of elementary, high school and college students, I have helped many students become successful learners. This involves being able to use effective study skills. This encompasses strategies for managing time to accomplish all that is required to be done within a given timeframe. Making good use of allotted time can be applied to short periods of time, such as doing homework, during a classroom test or other exams like the SAT, ACT, GED or ASVAB. Time management techniques are also useful when you have long term projects that can be days or weeks long. Organizing your schedule and environment leads to positive studying habits. There are many study techniques, such as the SQ3R, that help maximize retention of information. These techniques use cognitive research results to help increase memory and ensure newly learned material is truly learned for the long term and not just for the moment. Memory tips surely come in handy when having to remember large amounts of information! Test taking strategies can improve not only final test scores, but also can ease the stress of test taking. Knowing ahead of time what to expect and how to approach the task of taking that test helps to minimize test anxiety. This in turn paves the way for clear thinking and memory retrieval leading to positive test scores. Strategies for increasing reading comprehension increases long term learning. There are many different types of reading required in our daily lives. Some work requires close reading for detail, while other reading requires reading for more global understanding. Knowing strategies for different types of reading and blending these with an individual's learning style can lead to greater levels of reading comprehension. Lastly, notetaking skills enhance listening and reading comprehension, but also organizes information for later use, i.e., review and studying for tests. As an experienced educator with a master's degree, I can help you combine all these study skills to incr
Algebra 1, Algebra 2, Biology, English, Geometry, Prealgebra, Reading, Writing

Other

Sociology,

Sociology

I am well qualified to tutor in sociology. I am a certified teacher and have a master's degree in education and 15 years as a faculty member teaching social sciences at the college level. One of these social sciences was sociology. I taught undergraduate courses ranging from introductory survey courses to specific courses which included topics ranging from society and social structures, stratification, social classes, and equality/inequality; as well as diversity and deviance, the social institutions of family, education, economics, politics, religion. Each of these courses was arranged around the prominent sociologists research and their sociological views of people's behavior.
Study Skills

Study Skills

After over 20 years as a certified teacher of elementary, high school and college students, I have helped many students become successful learners. This involves being able to use effective study skills. This encompasses strategies for managing time to accomplish all that is required to be done within a given timeframe. Making good use of allotted time can be applied to short periods of time, such as doing homework, during a classroom test or other exams like the SAT, ACT, GED or ASVAB. Time management techniques are also useful when you have long term projects that can be days or weeks long. Organizing your schedule and environment leads to positive studying habits. There are many study techniques, such as the SQ3R, that help maximize retention of information. These techniques use cognitive research results to help increase memory and ensure newly learned material is truly learned for the long term and not just for the moment. Memory tips surely come in handy when having to remember large amounts of information! Test taking strategies can improve not only final test scores, but also can ease the stress of test taking. Knowing ahead of time what to expect and how to approach the task of taking that test helps to minimize test anxiety. This in turn paves the way for clear thinking and memory retrieval leading to positive test scores. Strategies for increasing reading comprehension increases long term learning. There are many different types of reading required in our daily lives. Some work requires close reading for detail, while other reading requires reading for more global understanding. Knowing strategies for different types of reading and blending these with an individual's learning style can lead to greater levels of reading comprehension. Lastly, notetaking skills enhance listening and reading comprehension, but also organizes information for later use, i.e., review and studying for tests. As an experienced educator with a master's degree, I can help you combine all these study skills to incr

Science

Sociology,

Sociology

I am well qualified to tutor in sociology. I am a certified teacher and have a master's degree in education and 15 years as a faculty member teaching social sciences at the college level. One of these social sciences was sociology. I taught undergraduate courses ranging from introductory survey courses to specific courses which included topics ranging from society and social structures, stratification, social classes, and equality/inequality; as well as diversity and deviance, the social institutions of family, education, economics, politics, religion. Each of these courses was arranged around the prominent sociologists research and their sociological views of people's behavior.
Biology, Psychology

Special Needs

ADHD,

ADHD

I am an experienced educator with a Masters degree in Special Education with 2 majors, one in learning disabilities and the second major in behavioral issues. I also have a Bachelor's degree in Psychology. During over 15 years teaching, I have worked with both children and adults with ADD/ADHD. Depending on the pattern of behaviors an individual displays, we work on academic and/or career goals and learn techniques for staying focused, organized, and calm. I model productive behaviors and remain positive and the student can learn positive learning behaviors which, in turn, can help improve memory and processing functions opening pathways to make progress in learning.
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD),

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

I am an experienced certified educator with a Master's degree in Special Education. I completed two majors, one in Learning Disabilities and a second one in Behavior Issues. I also completed a Bachelor's degree in Psychology. I utilize the principles of applied behavioral analysis which is considered the most effective teaching strategy for teaching individuals with autism. I have worked with children and adults on the spectrum who are high functioning and highly intelligent, those who have learning disabilities, and others who are in the moderate to severely impaired range. Because each person with autism has a unique learning and behavioral profile, I find it most effective to develop individual plans of intervention with unique goals for each learning and behavior need area. I can also follow plans that may have been already developed by psychologists, teachers, speech, occupational, and physical therapists. Utilizing the ABA techniques and detailed data collection methods to keep track of progress, I have found that developing a daily routine, including routines within the tutoring sessions, works best for everyone associated with a person with autism. Consistency within daily routines and teaching strategies provides the high degree of structure needed for learning to take place. I also use behavior management techniques to replace interfering behaviors with positive behaviors. I find using these routines adds predictability which not only helps learning academic skills, but also manages anxiety and repetitive behaviors that are commonly displayed. And the really inspiring thing is that I have worked with students with autism in colleges proving that with strategies that work for them, they can go on to higher education and lead successful productive lives.
Dyslexia,

Dyslexia

I learned many valuable techniques in my Bachelor's degree program in Psychology and my Master's Special Education degree program with 2 majors in Learning Disabilities and Behavior Issues. I have helped many students with dyslexia learn reading, math, writing skills, and other school subjects. I individualize my techniques teaching to the strengths of the learner. I am familiar with the major multisensory approaches to teaching students with learning differences and systematically embed visual, auditory, tactile and kinesthetic cues for maximum learning and processing potential. A major component of helping someone with dyslexia is to identify their strengths and emphasize success. I am sensitive to the repeated failure and the erosion of confidence that usually exists by the time someone with dyslexia begins to receive help. I believe rebuilding confidence is equally important as teaching reading and writing skills. Therefore in my tutoring I emphasize the positive and use strategies that not only build skills and maximize success, but also restores confidence and a sense of accomplishment.
Phonics,

Phonics

I am a certified special education teacher for kindergarten to 12th grades and have used many approaches for literacy skill development. I am familiar with the Wilson Reading and the Pinnell & Fountas programs. When I teach reading, writing, and spelling, I systematically introduce a skill and then follow with fun activities so the child can practice it and build his/her competence. I strive to keep these skill building activities fun, interesting, and relevant for the child. As a child's phonemic awareness and phonetic skills builds, I progress to building fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension skills. I love to share the wonderful world of reading and open the door to learning about all kinds of things a child might be interested in.
Special Needs,

Special Needs

I am an experienced certified educator and have a Master's degree in Special Education with two majors. I completed a major concentration of study in Learning Disabilities and a second concentration major in Behavior Issues. I also completed a Bachelor's degree in Psychology. I have taught students with a variety of special needs in a variety of settings. While working at a private day school for students with disabilities grades K-12, I was the supervising teacher for students with moderate to severe special needs in academics and behavioral management. I have also taught in a public school in a resource room setting for students with a variety of special needs ranging from learning and behavioral disabilities, visual and hearing impairments, health needs, physical disabilities, autism, and general developmental delays. I have also coordinated programs for infants and preschoolers with special needs, supervising teachers and therapists providing services to the children and their families. The common variable to all my experiences with children with special needs is that each child progresses with an individualized program developed by a dedicated team of skillful teachers and specialists who are knowledgeable about the impact of disabilities on growth and learning. We work together to individualize learning armed with techniques and strategies to promote success and enhance participation and integration within the school and community. I also have seen firsthand how students with special needs can be successful in college when I taught at a college. By the time they had reached my courses, they were students who knew how to manage and compensate for their "special needs". They were learning to become nurses, teachers, electricians, architects, engineers.... on their way to becoming productive working adults.
Study Skills

Study Skills

After over 20 years as a certified teacher of elementary, high school and college students, I have helped many students become successful learners. This involves being able to use effective study skills. This encompasses strategies for managing time to accomplish all that is required to be done within a given timeframe. Making good use of allotted time can be applied to short periods of time, such as doing homework, during a classroom test or other exams like the SAT, ACT, GED or ASVAB. Time management techniques are also useful when you have long term projects that can be days or weeks long. Organizing your schedule and environment leads to positive studying habits. There are many study techniques, such as the SQ3R, that help maximize retention of information. These techniques use cognitive research results to help increase memory and ensure newly learned material is truly learned for the long term and not just for the moment. Memory tips surely come in handy when having to remember large amounts of information! Test taking strategies can improve not only final test scores, but also can ease the stress of test taking. Knowing ahead of time what to expect and how to approach the task of taking that test helps to minimize test anxiety. This in turn paves the way for clear thinking and memory retrieval leading to positive test scores. Strategies for increasing reading comprehension increases long term learning. There are many different types of reading required in our daily lives. Some work requires close reading for detail, while other reading requires reading for more global understanding. Knowing strategies for different types of reading and blending these with an individual's learning style can lead to greater levels of reading comprehension. Lastly, notetaking skills enhance listening and reading comprehension, but also organizes information for later use, i.e., review and studying for tests. As an experienced educator with a master's degree, I can help you combine all these study skills to incr

Summer

Elementary (K-6th),

Elementary (K-6th)

I have a Masters degree in Special Education with 2 majors, one teaching students with learning disabilities and the other major in teaching students with behavioral issues. I possess a current professional level State of Maine certification for grades K - 12. I am an experienced educator with over 25 years of teaching experience. My instructional focus with young children is to individualize reading, language arts/writing, and/or math instruction to accommodate each child's style of learning. We progress through building the sequential reading, language arts/writing and math skills for the early elementary level. I then progress into the application of these skills to the content areas of science, social studies, etc. at the upper elementary grade level, adding organization and study skills instruction.
Study Skills,

Study Skills

After over 20 years as a certified teacher of elementary, high school and college students, I have helped many students become successful learners. This involves being able to use effective study skills. This encompasses strategies for managing time to accomplish all that is required to be done within a given timeframe. Making good use of allotted time can be applied to short periods of time, such as doing homework, during a classroom test or other exams like the SAT, ACT, GED or ASVAB. Time management techniques are also useful when you have long term projects that can be days or weeks long. Organizing your schedule and environment leads to positive studying habits. There are many study techniques, such as the SQ3R, that help maximize retention of information. These techniques use cognitive research results to help increase memory and ensure newly learned material is truly learned for the long term and not just for the moment. Memory tips surely come in handy when having to remember large amounts of information! Test taking strategies can improve not only final test scores, but also can ease the stress of test taking. Knowing ahead of time what to expect and how to approach the task of taking that test helps to minimize test anxiety. This in turn paves the way for clear thinking and memory retrieval leading to positive test scores. Strategies for increasing reading comprehension increases long term learning. There are many different types of reading required in our daily lives. Some work requires close reading for detail, while other reading requires reading for more global understanding. Knowing strategies for different types of reading and blending these with an individual's learning style can lead to greater levels of reading comprehension. Lastly, notetaking skills enhance listening and reading comprehension, but also organizes information for later use, i.e., review and studying for tests. As an experienced educator with a master's degree, I can help you combine all these study skills to incr
Algebra 1, Algebra 2, Biology, GED, Geometry, Reading, SAT Math, Writing

Test Preparation

ISEE,

ISEE

I am well qualified to do ISEE prep tutoring with students at each of the lower, middle, and upper levels. I have a master's degree in education, have taught for over 20 years in grades K-12 as well as at the postsecondary level for 15 years. In addition to my current teaching certification allowing me to teach grades K-12, I have extensive background in all areas of the ISEE: verbal and quantitative reasoning, basic math computation, geometry, algebra, reading comprehension in the humanities, social studies, and science; as well as the applications of all these topics.
ACT English, ACT Math, ACT Reading, ASVAB, GED, PSAT, SAT Math, SAT Reading, SAT Writing, SSAT

Ratings and Reviews

Rating

5.0 (728 ratings)
5 star
(715)
4 star
(11)
3 star
(0)
2 star
(1)
1 star
(1)

Reviews

Show reviews that mention

All reviews focused encouraging patient and encouraging goals tailored

Featured review

Kind, encouraging, patient and experienced!

Brenda works with my son and has off and on for over a year. She is everything a tutor should be. Kind and patient, encouraging and fun, etc. Her experience shows in her work. I highly recommend Brenda!

Jillaine, 42 lessons with Brenda

Knowledgeable

Brenda knows her craft of teaching. She has helped both of my kids 8 and 5 to stay on track with their grade level.

Jerome, 111 lessons with Brenda

Wonderful and supportive tutor

Brenda is really great. She is knowledgeable, patient and flexible! My child, who tends to be shy when encountering new people, took to Brenda very quickly and really enjoys the sessions with her. And her summaries of tutoring sessions are both detailed and highly informative for us parents. I can't recommend Brenda highly enough!

Shreesh, 35 lessons with Brenda

Patient, persuasive and diligent tutor

Brenda has been great at persuading our very reluctant 17 year old daughter to engage with her for tutoring. She doesn't give up and I so appreciate all her efforts. We look forward to many more sessions with Brenda at the helm.

Susan, 17 lessons with Brenda

Amazing Tutor!

Brenda completed her first lesson with our 11 year old today. He was nervous about having a tutor, but they hit it off right away. He was focused the entire hour which never happens. She gave such thorough feedback that will be so helpful to share with his teachers. We have gotten more information out of one session with Brenda than we have through out all his years of school. We will continue with her services until he is feeling confident and up to speed. Thanks, Brenda!

Sarah, 19 lessons with Brenda

Kind and effective tutor

Brenda has started teaching my son on writing and studying skills. I especially appreciate Brenda's kind, encouraging, effective, patient, accepting, and making study fun and interesting way of teaching, that will foster and increase student's confidence in study and all aspect of his/her life which will benefit him/her on all aspect of his/her life besides making academic progress. Thank you, Brenda.

Ye, 61 lessons with Brenda

Knowledgeable and wonderful tutor!

Brenda tutored my son for the Asvabs. She gave him great strategies to succeed. Brenda also instilled confidence in his ability. She is very patient and kind as well. Highly recommend!

Julie, 11 lessons with Brenda

Knowledgeable, organized and kind

Super fortunate to have Brenda helping me organize, strategize and focus on my goals. She is an excellent tutor! I'm adding as many sessions as I can before my SAT!

Amelia, 5 lessons with Brenda

Anthony's math

Brenda thank you for helping Anthony I feel he is more confident in his math skills. He has been doing his math everyday. thank you again. Robin

Robin, 9 lessons with Brenda

Renewed Focus on Learning

So far my 6 yo has really hit it off with Brenda. She looks forward to the sessions and has a renewed focus on learning. So far so good!

Scott, 9 lessons with Brenda
Contact Brenda

Response time: 6 hours

$60/hour

Brenda C.'s Photo

Brenda C.

$60/hour

  • No subscriptions or upfront payments

  • Only pay for the time you need

  • Find the right fit, or your first hour is free

Contact Brenda

Response time: 6 hours