Our Tutors

Cynthia C

Teaching Style

Communication and expectations are the top priorities in my repertoire of teaching strategies. I am able to communicate a sense of self-esteem in my students tempered with humor. They know I value them as human beings. In my experience young people are willing to live up to the expectations a good teacher demands. I use a direct, no nonsense approach and have found it extremely successful in all teaching environments.

Experience Summary

After having lived in Germany, teaching ESL in a middle school, I returned to the United States to teach in the Irving Independent School District in Irving, Texas. During that time I taught German, French and Spanish to middle and high school students. Subsequently, I was offered a teaching position for the Department of Dependent Schools, which is managed by the Department of Defense Education Activity. I taught Study Skills and German for three years in the Ramstein area in Germany. I then transferred to the United Kingdom where I taught these modern languages on an air base near Cambridge. Presently I am teaching ESL to businessmen in the Tampa Bay area as a free lance contractor. Having acquired skills in three foreign languages by three different learning methods, I have a good understanding of language acquisition as well as language usage.

Lori L

Teaching Style

I believe that students are wary of mathematics and statistics because they appear clinic and distant, with little to do with the “real” world. To educate I try to create dynamic and above all relevant “uses” for the lessons. My experiences have exposed me to different teaching styles and class formats and allowed me to develop a teaching philosophy that encompasses the best of all these methods. My philosophy is best described with reference to six primary concepts: 1. Knowledge conveyed in a relevant context 2. Interaction with each student and the material 3. Passion for teaching and the subject 4. Adaptability 5. Creativity in teaching methods and 6. Respect between the student and the teacher All students seek knowledge; it’s the teacher’s role to facilitate learning and guide them along the path. A successful lesson is one in which the student comes out seeing the world a little differently.

Experience Summary

During my education and career, the teaching of others has featured prominently in my personal goals and life objectives. While attending high school, I tutored fellow students professionally in subjects ranging from basic algebra to complex calculus. My undergraduate degree was in the field of Mathematics and Statistics with an additional biological statistics certificate and at present I am completing my Masters of Science in statistics. My understandings of these fields lead to my recruit by a number of professors and researchers to provide assistance and advisement on statistical analysis of their projects. In addition to assisting my professors, I was also selected to be a Graduate Teaching Assistant, and was also selected to conduct "stand alone" courses. I have a strong passion for these subjects and I believe my years of teaching experience have given me the insight, patience and ability to convey the complex world of mathematics and statistics to my students.

Malcom M

Teaching Style

I would best describe my teaching style as both effective and efficient. In order to be an effective teacher (or tutor) a relationship of mutual respect and trust must first be established between the teacher and the student. In addition, a student needs to know that the teacher sincerely cares about his or her accomplishments and successes both inside and outside of the classroom. Once these factor have been incorporated, it is then up to the teacher to relay the material and concepts to the student using situations and examples that are both relevant and familiar to the student's life and future career. If all these factors are taken into consideration, every student has the ability to learn the content of any subject area.

Experience Summary

Over the past 5 years I have taught various subjects in the areas of both science and mathematics including integrated science, earth science, physics, algebra (I and II), and geometry. For the past 3 years I have tutored small groups of student in a district funded, 6 week, after school program in an attempt to help students improve their SAT scores in the area of mathematics with all students reporting a significant increase in their test scores. I have also become extremely proficient with emerging technologies such as the TI-83 graphing calculator (and its successive models), teacher website design, and both online grading and lesson-planning software.

Zebunnisa Z

Teaching Style

I am a young, enthusiastic, and dedicated teacher/tutor. I truly care about my students and aim to help them achieve academic success as well as to help them grow as individuals. Through my experience as a teacher, I have developed a teaching style that I can adapt to the unique needs of my students.

Experience Summary

As a Math major during both my undergraduate and graduate studies, I have developed a great knowledge of the subject. I began peer tutoring while completing my Bachelor's at Stonybrook and have been tutoring ever since. I have tutored middle school through college level mathematics, but the majority of my tutoring experience has been in high school subjects.

Gary G

Teaching Style

My teaching style has been, for the most part, dictated by student response. I am comfortable teaching in a traditional lecture format, in a format that uses a cooperative learning approach exclusively, or in a hybrid format. The goal is for effective learning to take place, and I believe my strongest quality is to be able to adapt in such a way that best helps students reach their academic goals.

Experience Summary

For eight years, I taught freshman and sophomore-level mathematics courses at Arizona State University. These courses included College Algebra, Pre-Calculus, Calculus, Finite Mathematics, and Elementary Mathematics Theory. Additionally, I have tutored students in these courses both in the Mathematics Department Tutor Center, and on my own personal time.

Shelly S

Teaching Style

Because science is a "hands-on" subject, I feel it is extremely important to use demonstrations, examples that are relevant to every-day life, experiments and anything else that will help students understand the world around them. I have been told that I have an "out-of-the-box" approach to learning, but have found it to be successful with the majority of students. Classroom discussions are utilized more often then lectures, because when a student plays an active role in their education, they learn more.

Experience Summary

Over the past 12 years, I have worked in both the private and public sectors of the education community. I have taught grades 7-12 in all areas of science. I have also been the director of a learning center, where I started as a tutor. The years of experience have taught me a great deal about children of all ages and abilities. With each new year, I learn something new about myself and my style.

Arthur A

Teaching Style

I try to cultivate a student's curiosity, and then provide the necessary tools for learning. If students are curious and driven to learn, their potential is limitless. My goal is to help students learn through discovery. I am patient, considerate, and respectful of each student.

Experience Summary

While studying for my BA in English (Emphasis in Literature), I worked for two years as a writing tutor at the Hagan Writing Center. Tutoring was offered as a free service for interested students. (For some students, it was required). I tutored students at all levels from pre-College Writing to senior level literature courses. I completed work for my degree at three different colleges and universities in the United States and England, and I feel that the different teaching and learning methods I have seen have prepared me to be a more effective English tutor.

Ashley A

Teaching Style

First and foremost, I believe it is important to establish a trusting relationship with those you teach. Throughout my experiences in the field of education, I have found the most fruitful of those relationships to be those in which I was able to work with a student or group of students regularly over an extended period of time to develop a routine and a strong relationship in which great amounts of learning and understanding could be accomplished. Although many people experience obstacles in learning Mathematics, I believe that by presenting multiple ways to approach a problem, every student can find a method that works for them. Every student should be allowed the resources and opportunity to realize that they CAN achieve their goals. I am here to help students who have had difficulty with Math in the past to succeed, and feel confident in both their abilities in Math, and in life.

Experience Summary

As a student, I was always committed to learning and to achieving my goals. As a teacher and tutor, I strive to help others share the same love for learning and for understanding as I do. Now, I help others set goals, and work toward achieving them. I have worked with all ages, all ability levels, and various sized groups and have enjoyed each and every experience. In the past, I have primarily tutored in the subject of Mathematics, but am also trained by the Literacy Council to tutor reading and writing, and have enjoyed volunteering with that organization as well. I believe that I can help anyone enjoy and understand math, and help them feel better about themselves for it.