Isaak B.

About Isaak

I strive to provide tutoring with a patient, courteous and professional demeanor. I encourage students to develop their knowledge and to take a step back and look at how much they have already learned. I would say working with students who transform in the course of a few short weeks from feeling intimidated and helpless to empowered and capable has been the most rewarding aspect of this job -- my favorite activity. As an inquisitive, creative person and a lifelong learner, another favorite is taking courses online and as a middle-aged man, I find that playing competitive sports frequently is helpful for keeping up my energy and outlook on life.

My Experience
My tutoring experience includes six years of tutoring. Many students local to the Pittsburgh area, both in public and private high schools and at several excellent colleges and universities, and hundreds of students online have chosen to work with me. I have met many great and inspiring students through Wyzant.
I am well qualified to tutor virtually all of the math and physics courses available to high school students. I tutor test-prep for SAT|ACT|GRE quantitative sections and can help students who wish to prepare themselves for the SAT Physics, Math I or Math II subject tests. My general and inorganic chemistry knowledge is adequate to help most struggling high school students. I consider tutoring for other situations on a case-by-case basis. I recommend high-school students to take as much math as they feel like they can handle. There are a lot of great opportunities for a student with linear algebra, calculus or other advanced skills to gain an distinct advantage in a lot of different college, technical school, or specialized post-secondary courses. So many of the courses in certain programs have certain math courses as a pre-requisite, each time you master a new math skill you are opening doors of opportunities for yourself. Give each math course a chance, you might like it.

I hold a Bachelor's degree in Engineering Physics from the University of Alberta. The U of A is one of Canada's largest universities and a top engineering school. I developed skills in various types of math, physics, and other common general engineering courses. I relish opportunities to tutor math, physics and engineering courses to mostly freshman and sophomores, or to junior and seniors taking EE courses from other disciplines. At the college-level, I have tutored some of the earlier math courses I took, all the usual ones that most students, including science and engineering majors, take up to and including ordinary differential equations and introductory linear algebra.

My Philosophy
When students meet or exceed their goals, I am extremely pleased. For the advancement of peace and prosperity, it is important that everyone give their best effort throughout life, and school is a great place to start. Today's students are tomorrow's leaders, and going forward, I really want there to continue to be strong leaders in all walks of life.

My Expectations
A typical tutoring session naturally cycles through question, explanation, demonstration, and application stages. A student should use a tutor to augment rather than replace their study efforts. Students who rely on help from a tutor for every problem short-circuit their own success. While I sometimes work through a problem with a student, I avoid providing answers to problems. My goal is to work with the student to ensure they understand the raw concepts and learn to apply those concepts. I am also willing to work with students who already mostly understand the concepts but want to strive for better marks. These students sometimes have questions that reach beyond the core material or habits they might not be aware of that contribute to preventing them from reaching their peak performance. I am flexible to work with the student and adapt the session to the student's needs.

A student should maintain the momentum reached during the session by practicing on their own. While taking a break from a tough problem sometimes helps, I would recommend returning to study the problem until the entirety of the correct solution makes sense. You can assert that the solution makes enough sense to you once you are able to explain the solution to someone else. You should be able to answer frequently asked questions about the problem without your text or notes. You are welcome to send me a text, email or phone call about a problem when a question comes up; I will be glad to help.

Tutoring Environment
The ideal tutoring environment differs from student to student. If the noise level in a coffee shop or cafeteria does not bother the student, such places could be ideal for that student. The white noise of a crowd of random conversations can sometimes be comforting, familiar, and invigorating. If the student prefers a quiet environment, meeting online might be ideal. A library's tutoring room might be ideal for sensitive students. Noise-canceling headphones can make online meeting rather conducive for concentration and offers the convenience of meeting from nearly anywhere on the globe, including home, with a sufficient internet connection (minimum 300kbps download and upload recommended for video calling, or 1.5Mbps for HD video calling). A student's home is where some students work best.

I am generally willing to tutor in the environment that is most conducive to learning for my students. The only rules I have are : for minors, we either meet in public or in the presence of a responsible adult, or online. 2) No smoking in the same building (including incense). Pets are fine as long as they don't bite (kittens get a free pass) or sting. Quiet background noise is better than loud background noise, obviously. Adequate lighting is very helpful. A table is preferable, but a desk may be adequate. Chairs are better than sofas. No TV in view is preferable. No TV in audible range is ideal. I strive to provide tutoring with a patient, courteous and professional demeanor. I encourage students to develop their knowledge and to take a step back and look at how much they have already learned. I would say working with students who transform in the course of a few short weeks from feeling intimidated and helpless to empowered and capable… Read more

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