Tutoría de matemáticas de verano individual: secundaria, álgebra 1 y 2, geometría, precálculo y trigonometría.

A tutoring session is usually dependent on specific topics the learner is wanting additional help on .  If the learner is already enrolled in a summer school program, the expectation would be for them to provide the specific topic they are currently working on.  If the learner has worksheets or a specific curriculum they are working on, we would use that as the basis for the tutoring session.   My goal in a session of this nature would be to go over the topic they are currently working on, assess their understanding of the topic, and if there are gaps, go over the topic from a fundamentals perspective to make sure they truly understand what is being asked. 

An example of this may be factoring and solving a quadratic equation.  First, I would explain the fundamentals of factoring a number in general.  Example:  the factors of the number 10 are 2 and 5.   I would explain how that is similar to determining the factors of a quadratic equation.  I would explain to them that the form of a Quadratic Equation is Ax^2 + Bx + C and I would explain to them a strategy to factoring an equation that is in this form by first multiplying the A term to the C term and then determining two numbers that multiply to the the value of A*C but that add up to the value of B.  Then I would set up the equations of the factors of this equation, setting, them equal to zero and solving for those variables.  I would explain why we set those equations equal to zero, show them what that looks like on a graph and explaining to them that these values are when the graph of the line intercept the x axis.  If there was a good understanding of this, I would touch on the quadratic equation as a tool that can be used to solve this equation when factoring is not possible.   

Any follow up on this topic may require an additional session but the fundamentals principles would be in place.  I may give them some problems to work on or use their own curriculum problems to verify their own understanding.  

If the student was requesting a more class oriented structure where they would want the tutor to develop a curriculum, I would establish a structured plan for the class.  I have used effortless math.com for Algebra 1 and 2, and in a structured plan, work through topics that are listed on that website with an emphasis on specific topics I know they will need to have a clear understanding of.  I can provide worksheets for their use and they can practice and come back to me if they felt they needed additional help in that that area before moving on to the next topic.  

My teaching style is to try to make it fun.  I like to think of myself as young at heart although I am middle aged these days.  However, I am a father to young adults and a middle school daughter so I think I can interact well with them.  I also coach youth sports regularly so I think I communicate well with young people.  They will have fun and they will learn.  If you see my teacher profile, you'll see that I was a lot like most young people that struggle in school so I think I know how to interact well with them because in most cases I can understand where they come from.  

Math can be fun and it feels good when you really start to get it.  That is my ultimate goal, I want my students to have fun and I want them to walk away feeling comfortable about the material.  I have been successful in breaking those math barriers a lot of young students have and I am confident I can help your student.

I will primarily use zoom white board to show examples of the work.  I will talk to them a lot so I can assess if they understand the material, I'll ask them to guide me through the problems.  A common approach is I may do the problem on the white board with the student guiding my steps and I will often say "If you're not right, I'm not writing"  That usually helps them think about the problem as we try work through the problem.  It's a fun way to engage the student and they tend to get comfortable really quick.  Ultimately that is the goal, to make them comfortable and really learn.