Shin
Certified Tutor
I am currently a sophomore at Columbia University in the City of New York. I am pursuing a degree in Earth and Environmental Engineering with a concentration in Sustainability and Energy, and I am minoring in East Asian Studies (specifically, Japanese). After graduation, I plan on working in the renewable energy sector in either the United States or Japan.
From September 2014 through July 2015, I worked as a tutoring specialist for a company. I tutored students ranging in age from 13 to 50, in various subjects such as calculus and chemistry. While I enjoy tutoring students in all of the subjects I specialize in, I love tutoring students in physics (specifically, mechanics and waves). Physics is my favorite subject to tutor because while it is more difficult to demonstrate phenomena from other subjects such as organic chemistry, physics is a very prevalent science, so even by rolling my pencil off of a table, I can easily demonstrate physics concepts to my students.
For me, hearing "Oh, that makes so much more sense now!" from the students whom I tutor makes my job very rewarding because working with them to find the approach that best caters to their needs feels awesome. As a tutor, I always ensure that my students have a good qualitative understanding of the subjects they are struggling in before helping them with quantitative problems. For example, rather than simply telling my calculus students the formula for integration by parts, I first show them how it is derived so they acquire a good grasp of how it operates.
Outside of school, I really enjoy being involved with music. I love singing, playing the drums, piano, and guitar. My favorite genre of music is rock, so playing rock songs with a band has always been one of my favorite things to do.
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Undergraduate Degree: Columbia University in the City of New York - Bachelor of Science, Earth and Environmental Engineering
- ACT Composite: 34
- ACT English: 34
- ACT Math: 34
- ACT Reading: 35
- ACT Science: 36
Rock music
- 10th Grade
- 10th Grade Math
- 10th Grade Reading
- 10th Grade Writing
- 11th Grade
- 11th Grade Math
- 11th Grade Reading
- 11th Grade Writing
- 12th Grade
- 12th Grade Math
- 12th Grade Reading
- 12th Grade Writing
- 1st Grade
- 1st Grade Math
- 1st Grade Reading
- 1st Grade Writing
- 2nd Grade
- 2nd Grade Math
- 2nd Grade Reading
- 2nd Grade Writing
- 3rd Grade
- 3rd Grade Math
- 3rd Grade Reading
- 3rd Grade Science
- 3rd Grade Writing
- 4th Grade
- 4th Grade Math
- 4th Grade Reading
- 4th Grade Science
- 4th Grade Writing
- 5th Grade
- 5th Grade Math
- 5th Grade Reading
- 5th Grade Science
- 5th Grade Writing
- 6th Grade
- 6th Grade Math
- 6th Grade Reading
- 6th Grade Science
- 6th Grade Writing
- 7th Grade
- 7th Grade Math
- 7th Grade Reading
- 7th Grade Science
- 7th Grade Writing
- 8th Grade
- 8th Grade Math
- 8th Grade Reading
- 8th Grade Science
- 8th Grade Writing
- 9th Grade
- 9th Grade Math
- 9th Grade Reading
- 9th Grade Writing
- ACCUPLACER Arithmetic
- ACCUPLACER College-Level Math
- ACCUPLACER Elementary Algebra
- ACCUPLACER ESL
- ACCUPLACER Reading Comprehension
- ACCUPLACER Sentence Skills
- ACCUPLACER WritePlacer
- ACT Prep
- ACT English
- ACT Math
- ACT Reading
- ACT Science
- ACT Writing
- Adult Literacy
- Advanced Placement Prep
- Algebra
- Algebra 2
- AP
- AP Calculus AB
- AP Calculus BC
- AP Chemistry
- AP Japanese Language and Culture
- AP Macroeconomics
- AP Physics 1
- AP Physics 2
- AP U.S. Government & Politics
- AP US Government
- AP US History
- Arithmetic
- Business
- Calculus
- Chemistry
- CLEP Calculus
- CLEP Chemistry
- CLEP College Algebra
- College Algebra
- College Business
- College Chemistry
- College English
- College Essays
- Drum and Percussion
- Elementary School
- Elementary School Math
- Elementary School Reading
- Elementary School Science
- Elementary School Writing
- English
- Essay Editing
- Foreign Language
- General Chemistry
- High School
- High School Business
- High School Chemistry
- High School English
- High School Writing
- IB Chemistry
- IB Chemistry SL
- Japanese
- Languages
- Macroeconomics
- Math
- Middle School
- Middle School Math
- Middle School Reading
- Middle School Science
- Middle School Writing
- Non-Euclidean Geometry
- Organic Chemistry
- Pre-Algebra
- Pre-Calculus
- SAT Math
- SAT Mathematics
- SAT Subject Test in Japanese with Listening
- SAT Subject Test in Physics
- SAT Subject Tests Prep
- Science
- Social Studies
- Test Prep
- Trigonometry
What is your teaching philosophy?
Ensure that my students understand the theory/concepts pertinent to a topic before showing them how to solve quantitative problems.
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
Introduce myself, get to know the student's background, pinpoint the student's strengths and weaknesses in the subject she/he needs help with, and discuss how we will work together to strengthen any weaknesses.
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
Teach the student good study habits he/she should practice.
How would you help a student stay motivated?
I would do my best to relate academics to his/her interests and remind the student that excelling in academics will lead to great rewards in the future.
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
I would do my best to understand why the student has difficulty learning the skill or concept, and work around that difficulty by providing a different way of learning about the topic.
How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?
I first work with them to identify the specific issues they're having with reading comprehension, then provide them with personal instruction on how to make improvements.
What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?
I first get to know my student personally by asking about his/her interests, hobbies, and aspirations. By doing so, I can connect with my student on a more personal level while tutoring. I then work with my student to identify the specific issues he/she is having in academics, and then work with her/him to make improvements.
How would you help a student get excited/engaged with a subject that they are struggling in?
I always try to relate the subject we're studying to something that my student is interested in, such as sports, music, and theater.
What techniques would you use to be sure that a student understands the material?
I try to ensure that my tutoring sessions are mutually engaging, so that I receive feedback from my student throughout sessions and so that I know whether or not he/she understands the material.
How do you build a student's confidence in a subject?
I ensure that my student fully understands the material prior to making him/her apply knowledge in practice problems. That way, he/she will be able to successfully complete all of the problems that were previously too difficult to solve.
How do you evaluate a student's needs?
By staying communicative with my student so that I always know where to focus my attention for him/her.
How do you adapt your tutoring to the student's needs?
By getting to know my student well so that I can revise my teaching method according to what works best for my student.
What types of materials do you typically use during a tutoring session?
Notes I had previously taken in the subject I'm tutoring in, standardized testing books, textbooks, videos, and photos.