Alex
Certified Tutor
I graduated in 2014 from University Of California, Santa Cruz with a degree in Physics and a minor in Math and I plan on going to grad school for Planetary science next year. I tutored freshman physics in college and also graded students homework and test including classes such as algebra, calculus, and complex numbers. I enjoy teaching any science or math subjects to students, and I'm especially talented in Calculus, Algebra and high school physics. My tutoring style come from a desire to make sure students understand the topic from the ground up. Many people get discouraged from math because they see it as a large set of rules and equations that they have to memorize, when really it can make sense on a much simpler, fundamental level. I have experience teaching at a YMCA summer camp and have tutored my younger sister throughout the years. Some of my hobbies include piano, drums, rock climbing, computer programming, and hanging out with my two dogs. I'm super enthusiastic to teach others- I find I always learn a new way of looking at things when I teach someone, because there's so many ways to approach a subject.
Looking forward to meeting you!
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Undergraduate Degree: University of California-Santa Cruz - Bachelors, Physics
- SAT Math: 700
Piano, programming, camping, rock climbing
- Algebra
- Algebra 2
- Algebra 3/4
- Calculus
- Calculus 2
- Calculus 3
- College Algebra
- College Computer Science
- College Physics
- Computer Science
- Geometry
- High School Computer Science
- High School Physics
- JavaScript
- Math
- Multivariable Calculus
- Physics
- Pre-Calculus
- Python
- Ruby
- Technology and Coding
- Trigonometry
What techniques would you use to be sure that a student understands the material?
Watch their work closely- some time they can get the right answer but are lacking a deeper understanding that can be revealed if they explain why they do each step of a problem.
What is your teaching philosophy?
Only subjects that aren't understood are uninteresting. Anything can be interesting once it is understood fully!
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
Get to know them and where their knowledge is at. What are their strong points? Why are those their strong points?
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
Dig down and find out why they are having difficulty. Take a step back and go over some subjects they do know to gain confidence, because they CAN understand the subject.
How do you build a student's confidence in a subject?
Go over exercises that they are comfortable with, and let them realize they can understand the subject if they try hard enough!
How do you adapt your tutoring to the student's needs?
Everyone communicates differently. Adapting to other's communication styles is just part of how I work. I know how I learn, but understand it isn't how everyone learns. I check in to make sure I am communicating clearly.
What types of materials do you typically use during a tutoring session?
If it's math, one thing I like to incorporate is graphing software on the computer. It's a very powerful visual aid for more subjects than you think!