I graduated with a B. A. in Math from Williams College in 1994. At Williams, I was hired by the Math Department to tutor other students in basic math and calculus. I also taught a short course on trigonometry to prepare students for Calculus I. From 1994-1996, I taught math courses, comprised of topics in trigonometry, functions, algebra, and geometry, as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Gabon. From 1997-1998, I taught “Business Math” at the Katherine Gibbs School in Boston and served as a Teaching Assistant for “Multivariable Calculus” at the Harvard Extension School. I also tutored high school students and adults privately in a variety of math courses. More recently, I have been writing math lessons for an online tutoring program.
Philosophy and Approach
I majored in math in college order to challenge myself, since math had always been my weakest subject area. In middle school, I was the one who asked my friends for help in math until I attended an all-girls school, at which point I suddenly became the smartest student. My confidence surged as I became the expert. Math is hard, and each topic takes time and practice to master. But anyone can master it. The real problem is that so many students label themselves as “bad” in math and that label becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
My goal for my student is that he or she understand the fundamental principals underlying the method used. Because I have tutored and taught from a wide range of curricula, I have a variety of approaches at my fingertips. I try to find an approach that makes intuitive sense to the person I am tutoring. Knowing the principals behind the methodology of course, prevents someone from being thrown off if the problem is presented in a slightly different way or if a different question is asked, but the real payoff is the sense of pleasure that comes from true mastery—the moment when the student can explain it to someone else!
math
Experience
I graduated with a B. A. in Math from Williams College in 1994. At Williams, I was hired by the Math Department to tutor other students in basic math and calculus. I also taught a short course on trigonometry to prepare students for Calculus I. From 1994-1996, I taught math courses, comprised of topics in trigonometry, functions, algebra, and geometry, as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Gabon. From 1997-1998, I taught “Business Math” at the Katherine Gibbs School in Boston and served as a Teaching Assistant for “Multivariable Calculus” at the Harvard Extension School. I also tutored high school students and adults privately in a variety of math courses. More recently, I have been writing math lessons for an online tutoring program.
Philosophy and Approach
I majored in math in college order to challenge myself, since math had always been my weakest subject area. In middle school, I was the one who asked my friends for help in math until I attended an all-girls school, at which point I suddenly became the smartest student. My confidence surged as I became the expert. Math is hard, and each topic takes time and practice to master. But anyone can master it. The real problem is that so many students label themselves as “bad” in math and that label becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
My goal for my student is that he or she understand the fundamental principals underlying the method used. Because I have tutored and taught from a wide range of curricula, I have a variety of approaches at my fingertips. I try to find an approach that makes intuitive sense to the person I am tutoring. Knowing the principals behind the methodology of course, prevents someone from being thrown off if the problem is presented in a slightly different way or if a different question is asked, but the real payoff is the sense of pleasure that comes from true mastery—the moment when the student can explain it to someone else!