Our Tutors In Alaska

Douglas D

Teaching Style

I find that demonstration though example is the first step to understanding. This allows for an initial exposure to the material and plants seeds of knowledge. Adjuvant to demonstration, motivation and enthusiasm to learn the material must be taught. All the homework in the world cannot replace this! Regrettably, students often struggle due to poor instruction or vague textbooks which erode a student’s motivation. Fortunately this can be overcome with a little outside assistance. My long term goal of teaching is to foster a mature understanding of the subject matter. To master a subject it must be learned from multiple angles before the bigger picture is illuminated. Once a subject is illuminated it must be continually revisited for long-term retention.

Experience Summary

To me education is a way of life. My academic career has been driven by a thirst for knowledge. I have earned a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering, during which my math, physics, biology, engineering (mechanical and electrical), and other science skills were cultivated. Afterward, I spent another year pursuing a M.S. in Biomedical Engineering, which further strengthened those skills. During this program I was contracted to teach biomedical computer science for sophomore level students. With higher academic hopes, I left the M.S. program, to complete a Ph.D. in Biophysics with an emphasis on MRI physics. My multi-disciplinary doctoral training had a heavy emphasis on math, physics, and biologic sciences. The doctoral training greatly increased my reading comprehension and vocabulary, as well as, strengthened my grammar and writing skills, which were needed to produce scientific publications. Throughout this training I gave lectures to graduate, undergraduate, and high school students on MR physics.

Jonathan J

Teaching Style

I have learned that in teaching physics and mathematics it is important not only to have a grasp of the broad principles and concepts but to see how they are related and build upon one another. Furthermore, I have seen the success in teaching and practicing physics and mathematics from a problem solving point of view and tend to teach by providing examples to be worked upon and solving problems that typify common physics exam questions. I enjoy teaching to people from all different types of educational background and capabilities and see any subject material as accessible to all provided they are taught in a way most suitable to the individual and strive to find that for every one of my students.

Experience Summary

As a current graduate student of Texas A&M University working towards my PhD in Particle Physics here at Fermi National Accelerator Lab I have had the good fortune to not only experience the passion and interest that research in physics provides, but develop an extensive and diverse teaching experience. With an emphasis on making physics fun and understandable I have had experience in many of the basic physics courses as well as helping develop an outreach course to present the upper level physics ideas (big bang, black holes,...etc) to the mass public in an approachable and understandable way.

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.

Carrie C

Teaching Style

I can think of little else that is more rewarding that teaching. It is so wonderful to share knowledge and help another realize how powerful the willingness to learn can be - it can take you anywhere. So my enthusiasm for continuous learning drives my style which is really to take a complex concept and turn it into a real world example that the other individual can grasp. I try to break it down and add some color around each piece so that the other person can really relate and it's no longer an intangible concept. Once the individual can see that they can learn a concept that they originally may have been baffled by, I make sure to let them know that they can learn anything...it just takes some time, some questions, and maybe sometimes some help.

Experience Summary

During my high school and college years I frequently assisted others in learning subjects such as German, chemistry, algebra, business calculus, and economics. During my freshman and sophomore years as a college student I was formally employed as a tutor at the Pennsylvania State University for subjects including economics and business calculus. I earned a BS Accounting with honors degree in 2005 after which I began working at KPMG,LLP - one of the most prestigious and well-known global accounting firms. Employment at KPMG, LLP enabled me to continue my tutoring mentality due to the fast-paced team environment, and I was recognized for my focus on teaching others in 2008 with an award for Developing Others.

Jason J

Teaching Style

I truly enjoy teaching and watching a student’s growth both academically and personally with my assistance. I can not say that I have only one teaching style. The art of teaching is finding out what is the best way for my students to learn. Each and every student has a different way of learning; may it be lecture, demonstration, or question and answer. The great thing about teaching is that there is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way of expressing the material. Many times you have to use multiple methods of teaching to help the students gain a more thorough understanding. Having some professional experience in the Chemistry field is a great tool for both gaining the student’s attention and relating what is done in the classroom to real life scenarios. I gain great satisfaction from helping students obtain the goals they have set.

Experience Summary

I graduated from King's College in Pennsylvania in May of 2002 with my BS in Chemistry. I decided to return to school for another semester to do my student teaching and become certified in secondary education. I spent twelve weeks teaching 10th through 12th grade students in Chemistry and eight weeks teaching Advanced Chemistry. I thoroughly enjoyed my experience and look forward to one day having my own classroom and becoming a teacher and mentor to younger children. After graduating, I decided that I needed to gain some real life experience that I could apply and have students relate to before entering the classroom. So for the past 5 years I have worked in a variety of laboratory settings. Currently I am working as an Analytical Chemist for a Cosmetic / Pharmaceutical company on Long Island. I have tutored a few students over the past two years in Chemistry, Physics, and Math with great success.

Bill B

Teaching Style

I enjoy working with students of all ages. I have coached baseball and soccer for the past seven years to kids aged between six and fourteen. This learning experience has carried over to teaching teenagers and adults the principles of math and accounting.

Experience Summary

I am currently a Certified Public Accountant licensed in the State of Florida with over twenty five years of experience in Accounting and Finance. My education consists of a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Finance, with a minor in Mathematics. I am also very personable and would welcome the opportunity to tutor students at any level.

Paul P

Teaching Style

I am passionate about teaching, and love to work with school age and college level students to help them achieve their academic goals. I am available to help students learn and grow academically. My teaching style is facilitative, patient, easygoing and helpful. I strive to create a productive, safe, and caring environment for my students, where their learning experience is nurtured and productive. I have had the awesome privilege of being educated by many phenomenal teachers, and I believe in providing the same quality of teaching to all my students. It is my goal to make a profound difference in the lives of each of my students - one which help them to become successful adults in a complex business world.

Experience Summary

As a secondary school and college level teacher, I am passionate about helping my students succeed academically. Having earned two bachelors degrees (A Bachelor of Education in Secondary Education and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science/Mathematics), and a Master of Business Administration degree (GPA of 3.81/4.00), I have the academic and professional competencies which enable me to produce positive outcomes in a teaching environment. During the last 2 years, I have tutored students in Statistics, Mathematics, Biostatistics, and English. Also, I have taught for more than 8 years at the college level, teaching such subjects as Math, Information Technology, and Management Information Systems.

Justin J

Teaching Style

I am a very enthusiastic tutor and, as I stated in the previous section, believe teaching in such a way that the student gains a true mastery of the given subject. In a sense, I believe in each student understanding a particular concept in their own unique way that is consistent with their unique thinking processes. I strive to do this by relating a given concept analogously to something the student already fundamentally understands. I also create new problems to solve that probe the students’ progress and comprehension. I try to make these problems as realistic as possible to make them interesting to the student.

Experience Summary

Being a Ph.D. candidate and appointed research assistant, I very much realize the importance of true comprehension of a subject. Not only do I hold two B.S. degrees in Applied Mathematics and Chemical Engineering but I also carry credits to the equivalent of a Non-Thesis Masters in Applied Mathematics and am one course shy of a minor in Chemistry. I have tutored groups of students for Sylvan Learning Centers, conducted one-on-one sessions with Educational Enrichment and independently, and prepared and delivered lectures for advanced undergraduate chemical engineering courses. I am capable and experienced in tutoring all levels of mathematics, chemistry, chemical engineering, physics and materials science.