My Experience As A Math Tutor
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My Journey To Becoming A Math Tutor:
For as long as I can remember, math has been my favorite subject. From algebra to calculus, my fascination with computational problem solving has endured. Since middle school, I have enjoyed helping fellow peers solve math homework problems and prepare for exams. In high school, family friends requested my help to tutor their children in middle school math subjects. After successfully completing my first calculus course at Texas A&M, my teacher, Amy Austin, suggested I apply to be a Math Help Session Leader. While working the evening Math Help Sessions, several students requested my phone number for one-on-one private tutoring. This journey has led me to be a successful Math Tutor.
For as long as I can remember, math has been my favorite subject. From algebra to calculus, my fascination with computational problem solving has endured. Since middle school, I have enjoyed helping fellow peers solve math homework problems and prepare for exams. In high school, family friends requested my help to tutor their children in middle school math subjects. After successfully completing my first calculus course at Texas A&M, my teacher, Amy Austin, suggested I apply to be a Math Help Session Leader. While working the evening Math Help Sessions, several students requested my phone number for one-on-one private tutoring. This journey has led me to be a successful Math Tutor.
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Demonstration of Work Ethic:
In order to balance school, activities, and a job, I must manage my time and responsibilities. In order to make the most of my time on campus and to maximize my tutoring sessions, my students and I often schedule one hour sessions between classes. Placing tutoring sessions between classes prevents additional travel time after school to meet with a student, which is time I can then use to do my homework. Furthermore, between tutoring sessions, I allow students to text me pictures of problems they are struggling with, and I will text back a quick explanation picture (such as the one to the left). Students greatly appreciate this quick communication because it saves the student time from stressing over one problem that does not require an entire tutoring session. Furthermore, managing what topics each student is covering and how each student learns requires organization. The organization skills I have gained from my work experience have transferred into my studies to make me a better student. Another benefit of having an academically centered job is I further ingrain the knowledge into my brain. As a result, I am more successful at retaining material that is continually used in my classes.
In order to balance school, activities, and a job, I must manage my time and responsibilities. In order to make the most of my time on campus and to maximize my tutoring sessions, my students and I often schedule one hour sessions between classes. Placing tutoring sessions between classes prevents additional travel time after school to meet with a student, which is time I can then use to do my homework. Furthermore, between tutoring sessions, I allow students to text me pictures of problems they are struggling with, and I will text back a quick explanation picture (such as the one to the left). Students greatly appreciate this quick communication because it saves the student time from stressing over one problem that does not require an entire tutoring session. Furthermore, managing what topics each student is covering and how each student learns requires organization. The organization skills I have gained from my work experience have transferred into my studies to make me a better student. Another benefit of having an academically centered job is I further ingrain the knowledge into my brain. As a result, I am more successful at retaining material that is continually used in my classes.
![Picture](/uploads/2/5/9/9/25990105/47102.png?226)
Communication Is Key:
Tutoring has taught me the importance of communication. I have to communicate differently with each student. I have to find ways to clearly communicate how to solve a problem. I have to be flexible when communicating meeting times with students. For example, sometimes at the last minute a student will want to meet or will need to cancel a session, which has given me an edge on flexibility and adaptability.
One of the most challenging experiences was a summer tutoring job. A mom contacted me to help tutor her daughter who had ADHD. ADHD is an Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), which greatly inhibits a person's ability to focus on one task. In order to keep the student's attention during tutoring sessions, I had to come up with engaging methods to teach the material. To do so, I depended largely on design rationale, such as using colors, boxes, and diagrams, to keep the student's attention. I even inserted math jokes every five problems or so to reward her for focusing. Here is a worksheet I created for my ADHD student: Example Worksheet. Overall, tutoring an ADHD student was a rewarding experience that required me to think outside the box to find ways to most effectively communicate with the student.
Tutoring has taught me the importance of communication. I have to communicate differently with each student. I have to find ways to clearly communicate how to solve a problem. I have to be flexible when communicating meeting times with students. For example, sometimes at the last minute a student will want to meet or will need to cancel a session, which has given me an edge on flexibility and adaptability.
One of the most challenging experiences was a summer tutoring job. A mom contacted me to help tutor her daughter who had ADHD. ADHD is an Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), which greatly inhibits a person's ability to focus on one task. In order to keep the student's attention during tutoring sessions, I had to come up with engaging methods to teach the material. To do so, I depended largely on design rationale, such as using colors, boxes, and diagrams, to keep the student's attention. I even inserted math jokes every five problems or so to reward her for focusing. Here is a worksheet I created for my ADHD student: Example Worksheet. Overall, tutoring an ADHD student was a rewarding experience that required me to think outside the box to find ways to most effectively communicate with the student.
Feedback On My Performance:
The most rewarding feedback is when previous or current clients recommend me to other students and parents, who call and request my help. Additional positive feedback includes the following:
On the other hand, one of the recommendations I have received is that even though I am great at helping with homework problems and understanding topics, my students sometimes still struggle on tests and want to learn test strategies to improve their scores. Finding test strategies has proven difficult because the methods I use on my tests do not work for every student. Some strategies include skipping difficult problems to come back to later, drawing pictures to visualize problems, and getting a good eight hours of sleep the night before. However, I am continually seeking ways to help students implement new test strategies. Overall, my experience as a tutor and the positive feedback I have received has inspired me to one day write a math book!
The most rewarding feedback is when previous or current clients recommend me to other students and parents, who call and request my help. Additional positive feedback includes the following:
- my patience in explaining difficult problems
- my ability to catch small mistakes, such as a minus verse plus sign
- my neat handwriting in working out problems for students
- my willingness to explain a problem from a different angle if the first explanation does not click
On the other hand, one of the recommendations I have received is that even though I am great at helping with homework problems and understanding topics, my students sometimes still struggle on tests and want to learn test strategies to improve their scores. Finding test strategies has proven difficult because the methods I use on my tests do not work for every student. Some strategies include skipping difficult problems to come back to later, drawing pictures to visualize problems, and getting a good eight hours of sleep the night before. However, I am continually seeking ways to help students implement new test strategies. Overall, my experience as a tutor and the positive feedback I have received has inspired me to one day write a math book!