Hi!
Science is interesting, exciting and fun. But it can also be confusing. The same is true for math, English, the humanities, anything that involves critical thinking. It's easy to get wound up inside your own head and not know how to get things sorted out. Sometimes people even come to think that they CAN'T learn a subject. But in my 20+ years of working as a professor, tutor and research mentor, I've never met anyone who couldn't learn to be better at a subject. It's often just down...
Hi!
Science is interesting, exciting and fun. But it can also be confusing. The same is true for math, English, the humanities, anything that involves critical thinking. It's easy to get wound up inside your own head and not know how to get things sorted out. Sometimes people even come to think that they CAN'T learn a subject. But in my 20+ years of working as a professor, tutor and research mentor, I've never met anyone who couldn't learn to be better at a subject. It's often just down to learning how to learn and growing your skills with practice.
I am super passionate about the importance of understanding. I've found that sitting down with someone and talking through things, not just what the material is, but how you're trying to put it all together, can radically improve how things make sense. Mapping out the connections and seeing where the pieces all fit together can make a difficult topic open up and become way easier. Sometimes when you're frustrated and banging your head against a wall, you just need a chance to reframe and see things from a different angle.
I have spent a lot of time, talking about a lot of different scientific things, to a lot of different people. I have bachelor's degrees in biology and anthropology, and a master's and PhD in neuroscience. I've worked as a biology professor and tutor for years. All of that has given me a pretty substantial amount of experience with math, stats, chemistry, psychology, and writing. I've also been lucky enough to do a lot of outreach and public writing and teach classes on science policy and outreach.
I have worked with students from just about every background and mindset; kids, teenagers, returning students, first gens, pre-meds, ESL students and more. Everyone is different and everyone has different challenges, both internal and external. Our anxieties, stresses, and unique learning abilities make us each unique. No two of us are alike, and we learn best when we embrace the things that make us special.
