Different teachers have different teaching styles, some of which might work better for you than others. So before you select a tutor, it is important to know that their teaching philosophy (i.e. what they believe is the "best" way to teach someone) matches your unique learning style. To ensure that my services will be a good fit, I encourage you to read below about my approach to effective teaching. If you like it, give me a call.

My Philosophy

Learning shouldn't feel like a chore. Done right, it can actually be a lot of fun, and it's a shame when poor teaching spoils otherwise interesting material. To make learning as effective and enjoyable as possible, my approach to teaching rests on two foundational principles.

1) The growth mindset. Without exception, this is lesson #1 for my students. Described in more detail here, it means that anyone (anyone!) can improve their academic performance if they simply believe in their own ability to grow. That's it - no fancy bells or whistles, just one all-important idea. A strong growth mindset forms the foundation of significant academic achievement, and with it, any student can learn just about anything. Accordingly, my job as a tutor is to help students dig deeper into their own potential, no matter their starting point, past struggles, or ambitious goals for the future.

2) Personalization. I work hard to customize my lessons so that they resonate with each student's established strengths. Are you artistic? Great, we will use doodling and coloring to help you memorize content more effectively. Do you tend to think analytically? Perfect, I'll create structured, concrete examples to help you understand complicated concepts. Do you get stressed out while studying, or before tests (who doesn't)? No problem, I'll give you a few tried-and-tested relaxation practices to help you perform better on test day. A good tutor should help you understand content in a way that is natural for you, and teach you how to learn in a more positive, sustainable way.

These principles contribute to my core belief about education: learning should be an enjoyable process. With a background in peer counseling and positive psychology research, I know that students who enjoy the learning process consistently outperform their peers in schoolwork, standardized tests, and other measures of academic success. When I tutor, then, I push my students to work hard towards success, and ensure that they have fun while doing it.