Courtney
Certified Tutor
Courtney graduated with a Psychology, BS from Louisiana State University in 2015. She was actively involved in student leadership, mentoring opportunities, and social justice organizations on campus. She currently works as an advocate for a local non-profit sexual assault center. Her crisis work has given her training in dealing with the most stressful situations with a calm manner and a positive attitude.
Working to empower people on a daily basis, she wants students to realize their potential. Leadership development, utilizing positive psychology, and brainstorming for innovative solutions are her passions. She can meet students where they are and show them how to reach their goals with evidence-based strategies. Her strengths are logically approaching and analyzing situations in order to adapt with a thorough dedication to the work.
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Undergraduate Degree: Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College - Bachelors, Psychology
- ACT English: 35
- ACT Reading: 36
Reading, creative writing, playing with pets, going to the park, and cooking.
- ACT English
- ACT Writing
- Other
- Psychology
- Social Sciences
- Study Skills
- Study Skills and Organization
- Test Prep
What is your teaching philosophy?
Meet people at their level and start from there with a positive attitude. Learning never stops.
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
I would ask the student about him or herself to figure out learning style, how the student feels about school/education, what the student is interested in, what strategies the student feels hasn't worked in the past. After getting some basic information, I would come up with a structured plan based on the individual student's personality and learning style.
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
Empowering a student to be a self-initiator can be challenging, but meeting the student at his or her level is fundamental. We can build off from there by digging into the student's passion and his or her desire to learn. Does the student have a specific goal? Does the student need to address past negative academic experiences? The biggest question is: does the student think he or she can learn independently? If not, I would explore why these feelings might be happening so that we could find empowering strategies to work towards academic and personal goals.
How would you help a student stay motivated?
Intrinsic motivation (internal) is important for a student. I would use the SMART goal method to set a reasonable goal with the student for each lesson that he or she can keep track of. By setting realistic goals that can be done in a reasonable timeline, a student can see that he or she can break down larger goals into small steps that are manageable.
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
I would ask the student how he or she has learned difficult concepts in the past. If the student likes to learn through different forms of media, I would see what other materials I could introduce. For example, I could find an online video that might work better to explain a concept vs. a book.