Neuroscience, CS Graduate Active Recall & Analogy-Driven Teaching

Heather D.

I graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with dual bachelor’s degrees in neuroscience (with a chemistry minor) and computer science. I’ve learned that understanding how something works at a fundamental level makes all the difference in truly grasping it, and that’s the approach I bring to tutoring.

While I haven’t worked as a formal tutor, I’ve spent countless hours explaining complex concepts to friends and peers throughout college, ranging from high school students exploring STEM fields to fellow undergraduates wrestling with difficult coursework. As someone who struggles with visualization, I’ve developed a teaching style that relies heavily on analogies and drawing connections between ideas. I believe that giving students the broader context around a concept helps them build intuition rather than just relying on memorization. I encourage active recall techniques, mind mapping to see how ideas interconnect, and what I call circular questioning, where students ask themselves questions from different angles to deepen their understanding. These informal teaching moments showed me that everyone learns differently, but anyone can master challenging material when it’s presented in a way that clicks for them.

My own relationship with learning transformed in my early school years when a teacher challenged me to push beyond what I thought I was capable of. I went from being disengaged to earning straight A’s, and more importantly, I discovered the joy of actually understanding something deeply. That experience shaped my belief that the right teacher can unlock potential students didn’t know they had. Now I want to provide that same spark for others, helping them experience that incredible moment when a difficult concept suddenly makes sense and they realize they’re capable of more than they imagined.