Yutong
Certified Tutor
"Professor, you can speak seven languages! Why did you choose to become a primary school teacher?" I asked my primary school history teacher in London.
"Because I wanted to change the world!" He exclaimed.
"But, how are you doing that exactly?"
"By helping one person at a time and that includes you," said my professor with a smile on his face.
I deeply admired my primary school history teacher and his words still impact me today. Because I feel extremely fortunate to have had the opportunities to live in three countries and to complete high school and college education, I would like to contribute back to society by bridging cultural gaps and helping others through teaching.
During high school, every Sunday morning I taught Chinese language and culture to a group of adopted local Chinese children and their families and continued to do so in college. Additionally, I was also the teacher assistant for my college major's senior design class and the head teacher assistant for a freshmen guidance class.
The best tutors are not necessarily the smartest but are the most understanding, patient, communicative, dedicated, and creative. They listen to the needs of their students and can break down harder and complex concepts into simpler and smaller units. They are also the catalysts for helping students see problems and concepts from different angles and are dedicated to sharing and updating their knowledge.
I admire them and strive to be one of them, so that one day I too can change the world one person at a time.
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Undergraduate Degree: Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus - Bachelor of Science, Industrial and Systems Engineering
- ACT English: 32
- ACT Math: 35
- ACT Reading: 31
- SAT Math: 720
- SAT Writing: 710
Cross country running
- ACT English
- ACT Math
- ACT Reading
- AP Biology
- AP Chinese Language and Culture
- AP European History
- AP World History
- College Biology
- Conversational Mandarin
- General Biology
- Languages
- Mandarin Chinese
- Mandarin Chinese 2
- Mandarin Chinese 3
- Mandarin Chinese 4
- Organic Chemistry
- Other
- SAT Math
- SAT Mathematics
- SAT Writing and Language
- Science
- Social Studies
- Study Skills
- Study Skills and Organization
- Test Prep
What is your teaching philosophy?
Listen, Understand, Communicate, Personalize.
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
Introduce myself, including sharing some of my academic struggles.
Ask the student questions and listen to their concerns and issues.
Establish goals and plans to help guide them to achieve their desired results.
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
Help them learn the material but do not "spoon-feed."
Also, I'd have them teach me the materials they learned.
How would you help a student stay motivated?
Listen to their accomplishments and concerns and discuss plans to achieve even higher.
Also, I'd help remind them of their goals and how far they have already progressed.
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
Listen to their concerns and help them see the concept from a different angle.
Also, I'd simplify concepts and give examples for reference.
How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?
Ask them questions after they've finished reading and listen to their way of thinking. Then, we can discuss areas of improvement.
What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?
Both tutor and students should be proactive and communicative.
Open communication and discussion are some of the best ways to establish a good relationship.
How would you help a student get excited/engaged with a subject that they are struggling in?
Try to apply concepts from their subjects to things that they enjoy doing. Help them understand why that subject is relevant and "cool."
What techniques would you use to be sure that a student understands the material?
Ask questions: some basic, some application-based.
Have them teach me, and I will pretend to be the student and ask questions for them to answer.
How do you build a student's confidence in a subject?
Remind them see how far they have already progressed and let them know that plenty of people struggle with many subjects!
How do you evaluate a student's needs?
Based on their academic level & skills, interests, availability, and their goals.
How do you adapt your tutoring to the student's needs?
All students need to have personalized studying plans.
Listening, communicating, and discussing with the student to create the plan together is very important!
What types of materials do you typically use during a tutoring session?
That depends on the subject, but normally, I have found that visualization and examples can help all of us better understand difficult concepts.