Julia
Certified Tutor
I am a very enthusiastic teacher and role model. I currently work as a research assistant, a nanny for children with special needs, and a tutor for various subjects. I have taught my own statistics course (Data Analysis in Psychology) for two years while receiving my Master's degree in Psychology from San Diego State University. I am a big believer in having fun while learning. The more fun you have, the more you will want to continue to learn. I am a visual learner, and I teach that way as well. I teach using stories, jokes, games, pictures, and positive reinforcement, but I also like to get to know my students and tailor my teaching style to their learning style. My favorite part of tutoring and teaching has always been figuring out how each individual student learns and finding a way to explain concepts so that each student can fully understand them. I have always enjoyed education and getting other people excited about learning. My favorite subject is math. I love teaching it by breaking down problems into simple steps. I honestly believe that there are no stupid questions, because knowing when you need help and being able to ask for it are extremely important skills, not only for education, but for life in general.
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Undergraduate Degree: University of California-San Diego - Bachelors, Psychology
Graduate Degree: San Diego State University - Masters, Psychology
- SAT Composite (1600 scale): 1360
- SAT Math: 710
- GRE Quantitative: 163
- GRE Verbal: 160
Reading, hiking, cooking, swimming, going to the beach, seeing family and friends
- Algebra
- Algebra 2
- AP Psychology
- College Algebra
- College Application Essays
- Elementary Math
- Elementary School Math
- Graduate Test Prep
- GRE
- GRE Analytical Writing
- GRE Quantitative
- GRE Subject Test in Psychology
- GRE Subject Tests
- GRE Verbal
- Homework Support
- Medicine
- Middle School Math
- Other
- Pre-Algebra
- MCAT Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior
- Public Health
- Quantitative Reasoning
- Social Sciences
- Special Education
- Statistics
- Study Skills
- Study Skills and Organization
- Test Prep
- UK A Level Prep
- UK A Level Psychology
- UK A Level Quantitative Methods
- UK A Level Statistics
What is your teaching philosophy?
Make learning fun and relate personally to the material.
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
Build rapport with the student, have them work through a few problems out loud to understand their style, and work through problems in different ways until finding the best teaching method for that student.
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
Encourage them to try problems on their own before asking for help. Make sure the student is comfortable with the material before increasing difficulty or challenging them.
How would you help a student stay motivated?
Make learning fun and entertaining; allow students to take breaks when necessary, and reward them frequently for their improvements.
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
I would make the concept as visual as possible, and try to use scenarios from the student's life or relate the material to the student's interests. I would also have them practice a skill or try to teach me the concept themselves.
How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?
I encourage them to pick out keywords in the passages they read and take notes. Try to determine what the main idea is. I would tell them to focus on keywords and the general tone of the passage (positive, negative, opinionated, neutral, etc.).
What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?
Visualizing the topics, drawing pictures, telling stories or making jokes that relate to the material, making connections between different topics, and overall finding the best way to make something memorable for a student.
How would you help a student get excited/engaged with a subject that they are struggling in?
First of all, I would show enthusiasm myself when approaching the subject. I would start off with easier problems or questions and be as encouraging and reinforcing as possible. I would play games involving that subject, and make learning feel less like school (teacher talking, student listening) and more like a two-way conversation.
What techniques would you use to be sure that a student understands the material?
I would quiz the student randomly, both formally and informally. Based on their responses, I would make sure to go over anything they seem to be struggling with, and I'd make sure that the student is very comfortable asking me questions.
How do you build a student's confidence in a subject?
Making sure that I answer all of his or her questions without any judgement, starting slowly with easier questions or problems and work our way up, relating to the student as much as possible, and reinforcing the student often. If necessary, I would share with him or her my philosophy that telling yourself you are good at something can actually help make you better at it, and vice versa.
How do you evaluate a student's needs?
Talk with them about the subject. Ask questions that cover various areas of the subject. Test or quiz them, and take notes on anything they seem to struggle with.
How do you adapt your tutoring to the student's needs?
I pay attention to what methods work best for the student (i.e. lead to the most learning or improved knowledge), take notes on what works best, and monitor how they seem to react to different teaching methods or topics.
What types of materials do you typically use during a tutoring session?
I like using whiteboards and dry erase markers. Depending on the subject, I might use my hands or fingers, books, tests or quizzes, pictures or drawings, tokens, or some type of reward system (e.g. gold stars).