Richard P.
Alexandria, VA
Fairfax County Tutor for HS Math and Science
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Fordham College at Rose Hill
PhysicsUniversity of Pennsylvania
PhDAbout Richard
I came to tutoring as a second career after retiring from full time scientific work. I have always enjoyed tutoring – especially at the high school level. I now devote more time and effort to it than was possible before retirement. I have hundreds of hours of experience with more than 50 students. I have worked with four Fairfax County Public
Policies
Travel Radius
Travels within 20 miles of Alexandria, VA 22309Richard offers online lessons
Richard is approved to conduct lessons through Wyzant Online. Wyzant Online allows students and tutors to work remotely via video, audio, and collaborative whiteboard tools. For more information about how online tutoring works, check out Wyzant Online.
If you’re interested in online lessons, message Richard to get started.
"Momentum and Impulse"
- Katya, Vienna, VA on 7/7/16Use of formulas of impulse and momentum. Explained the concept of conservation of momentum. Helped with homework and any questions I had.
"Knowledgeable and patient tutor"
- Irina, Burke, VA on 6/25/16Richard helped me understand topics which were at first complicated to me, but then became much simpler. I don't understand why teachers couldn't do that in the first place, but I guess that's why we have wonderful tutors like Richard for help. Thank you!
"Knowledgeable and helpful!"
- Seamus, Falls Church, VA on 6/6/16Richard was well versed in the physics problems I was working through for an online class and was patient and helpful in conveying the concepts such that I understood them better.
"Great first session!"
- Greg, Lorton, VA on 4/1/16My son was really pleased with the session with Richard P. He was able to explain topics from my son's Honors Algebra 2 class in ways that allowed him to better understand them and apply them in more situations.
"Great tutor!"
- Adriene, Alexandria, VA on 3/11/16Richard helped my son over spring break to prepare for an up coming exam in freshman physics at Penn State. Thank you .
"Knowledgeable and attentive"
- Scott, Arlington, VA on 12/10/15Richard was able to diagnose where our child was having problems in Calculus quickly, they worked through several examples together and he suggested areas to focus her study. Overall a great experience.
"Very experienced tutor, excellent skills"
- Bridget, Springfield, VA on 10/29/15Was able to logically explain concepts that the student found difficult to understand prior to the lesson. Thanks for all your help.
"Great Tutor"
- Dane, Alexandria, VA on 10/23/14Richard was so helpful to our son who is a senior at Gonzaga! His rapport with our son and clarity in teaching were remarkable. Loved him!
"Good Tutor But..."
- Alexaundria, Dumfries, VA on 8/2/14I really did like this tutor and how we did our sessions, but there were times that we did come across a problem that the tutor couldn't answer because of his lack of knowledge in that particular area. Also, when showing work it was hard to understand him sometimes and I got lost a lot of times during our sessions, which made the sessions longer. He is a really smart person when it comes down to math but not the right tutor for me.
"Great Work, Richard"
- Peggie, Falls Church, VA on 4/28/14Thank you for your work with our son, Richard. He is feeling much more confident in the material and he is really learning it and beginning to internalize it. We so appreciate your knowledge of Physics and your expertise in teaching.
"Great and flexible!"
- Tania, Springfield, VA on 11/11/13Richard P. was very easy to get in contact with and flexible hours as well. When we started working he was very patient and took the time to explain many things as carefully as needed. It was no problem asking any questions I had on our work so I was able to understand things in a clear sense and felt comfortable that I could do the work on my own! Satisfied indeed with the session!
"Excellent Sessions"
- Rich, Alexandria, VA on 1/20/13Richard is a true professional in all respects. He is well prepared, patient and has set my 15 yr old at ease about the complexities of chemistry. Two weeks into tutoring and my son's confidence is growing.
Approved subjects are in bold.
Approved subjects
In most cases, tutors gain approval in a subject by passing a proficiency exam. For some subject areas, like music and art, tutors submit written requests to demonstrate their proficiency to potential students. If a tutor is interested but not yet approved in a subject, the subject will appear in non-bold font. Tutors need to be approved in a subject prior to beginning lessons.
Algebra 1
In my tutoring experience I have found that one topic area is central to Algebra 1. The student must become comfortable with both the graphical and algebraic representations of straight line functions. The good student knows both of these, and can go back and forth between them with ease. Part of my tutoring approach is to help the student gain confidence in doing this. When a student can look at y = -2 x + 3 and instantly know how to put the corresponding line on a graph, I know that my tutoring help has been a success. There is a graphing calculator approach to this, which I do cover, but it is not enough by itself.
Algebra 2
Unlike the situation for Algebra 1,it is hard to point to a single central topic in Algebra 2 as being the key to successful mastery of the subject. There are numerous topic areas that must be worked. In a meeting with a new student in Algebra 2, I talk with the student in an attempt to identify the ones for which he/she may need assistance. To be sure, there are links between the topic areas. I point these out at every opportunity in order to build bridges to material that the student may know well. A simple example of this is the trigonometric identity sin^2 + cos^2 = 1. I explain to the student that this is the trigonometric form of the Pythagorean theorem of geometry. There are many bridges of this type - I try to work them into each tutoring session.
Calculus
I have been tutoring all levels of high school calculus for eight years. In that time I have helped many students prepare for the AP exams. In addition to my tutoring experience, I have a great deal of practical experience with calculus gained from my physics research career.
Chemistry
Of all the subjects that I have tutored for the last 5+ years, Chemistry has been the one most in demand. This may be due in part to the Chemistry SOL test required in Virginia for graduation. However, for many students, it is also the first science course that requires the use of algebraic methods to get answers to problems. I have found that this is a barrier for quite a few students. I have developed a number of methods for getting students past this barrier. I have picked up some of these methods from full time Chemistry teachers, and have developed others myself. Seeing students gain confidence in doing this is one of the real pleasures of tutoring.
Physics
My 30 year full time career was in physics (I still do consulting), so I especially welcome the opportunity to tutor physics. In many high school physics courses the most difficult material comes near the start of the course. This material involves motion under constant acceleration and can involve application and manipulation of a set of non-linear equations. In principle, Algebra 1 and some modest extensions are all the math background that is needed for this part of physics. I find however, that some students - even some with good grades in math - just get lost in a "forest" of algebra and cannot see the physics ideas that are the essence of the material. I have developed tutoring approaches to working through the math to the physics that have been successful. Quite often, once the student gets through the motion under constant acceleration material, the rest of the course goes much more smoothly.
SOL
I have tutored more than a dozen students in the Chemistry and Algebra II SOL tests on a volunteer basis. The students did pass the tests after my help.
For the Chemistry SOL test I have tutored 10+ adult students using officially released tests from prior years. Most of the students were not native English speakers. Despite this, the ones who actually went through with taking the test passed it. I have also done more limited tutoring for the chemistry SOL test working with the Jefferson Labs software package in a Fairfax County volunteer setting. Due to the nature of this volunteer setting, I had only an hour or two with each student. Thus I cannot assess how successful that I was. However, I did get valuable insights into the Jefferson Labs approach to preparation for this test.
For the Algebra II SOL test, my experience is limited to helping students work through the Jefferson Labs preparation material. I was very successful with at least two students.
Other Alexandria, VA Tutors
Richard P.
Alexandria, VA
Fairfax County Tutor for HS Math and Science