Omar
Certified Tutor
My interest in science dates back to childhood, and being close to NASA was always a plus. So when I reached college majoring in Biochemistry was a no-brainer for me. I also double minored in Spanish and Chemistry. Learning has always been an important part of my life due to my mother being a teacher and to this day I continue to learn as much as I can about a variety of subjects. I currently work for MD Anderson Cancer Center in their Radiation Physics department. We perform output calibrations for particle accelerators that give radiation therapy to patients. I plan on continuing my education to become a medical physicist.
Although I am passionate about science and mathematics, it didn't always come easy for me. Some things made sense at first, some things just didn't. But believing that I was intelligent enough to comprehend new concepts helped me be the person I am today. No concept was too formidable and it was a matter of taking the time to properly learn it and having perseverance. I believe this applies to other aspects of life that aren't related to academics. In my free time I enjoy art in its many forms, distance running, boxing (I hope to compete this year), playing piano and cello, history, culture, and many other things.
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Undergraduate Degree: University of Houston - Bachelors, Biochemistry
Art, Music, History, Science, Astronomy, Literature, Spanish and Latin American History, Politics, Architecture History, Piano, Cello, Distance Running, Boxing
- ACT English
- ACT Math
- ACT Science
- ACT Writing
- Algebra
- Algebra 2
- AP Art History
- AP Physics 1
- AP Spanish Language & Culture
- AP Spanish Literature and Culture
- AP World History
- Biology
- Business
- CogAT Prep
- College Algebra
- College Biology
- College Business
- College Economics
- College English
- College Geography
- College Level American History
- College Physics
- Comparative Literature
- Conversational Spanish
- Economics
- Elementary Math
- Elementary School Math
- English
- English Grammar and Syntax
- ESL/ELL
- Essay Editing
- European History
- Finite Mathematics
- Geography
- Geometry
- Gifted
- Government
- Graduate Test Prep
- High School Biology
- High School Business
- High School Economics
- High School English
- High School Geography
- High School Level American History
- High School Physics
- History
- Homework Support
- ISEE Prep
- Languages
- Literature
- Macroeconomics
- Math
- MCAT Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems
- MCAT Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems
- MCAT Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior
- Microbiology
- Microeconomics
- Middle School Math
- Newtonian Mechanics
- Other
- Phonics
- Physical Chemistry
- Physics
- Pre-Algebra
- Pre-Calculus
- Probability
- PSAT Mathematics
- Reading
- SAT Prep
- SAT Math
- SAT Mathematics
- SAT Reading
- SAT Writing and Language
- Science
- Social Studies
- Spanish
- Spanish 1
- Spanish 2
- Spanish 3
- Spanish 4
- STAAR Prep
- Statistics
- Study Skills
- Study Skills and Organization
- Summer
- Test Prep
- Trigonometry
- Virology
- Writing
What is your teaching philosophy?
If you didn't make any mistakes it means you didn't learn anything new.
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
A brief introduction in order to assess personality, and then I make teaching adjustments accordingly.
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
Emphasize a routine of learning a new concept every few days or week to where it becomes second nature.
How would you help a student stay motivated?
Reminding them of the long-term goals and why they are doing this in the first place.
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
Break it down step by step, see which step or steps they are not comprehending, and work from there.
How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?
Suggest that they get in the habit of reading small articles daily. Small enough to maintain attention span, but large enough to where it might take a minute or two to summarize what was read.
What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?
Find out what kind of learner they are. What their work ethic is like. Then go from there.
How would you help a student get excited/engaged with a subject that they are struggling in?
Find some practical applications for the subject or concept that they might be familiar with or that may be interesting to them.
What techniques would you use to be sure that a student understands the material?
Ask it again later in the session, or ask a secondary question that might take a little more effort to answer to confirm comprehension.
How do you build a student's confidence in a subject?
Positive reinforcement when correct. Reminding them that, just because you don't comprehend something right off the bat, that doesn't mean you'll never understand it.
How do you evaluate a student's needs?
Letting them do a few problems on their own then grading them and seeing any trends in errors.
How do you adapt your tutoring to the student's needs?
By assessing those needs when grading a few practice problems or maybe an assessment that they already have completed in order to find out exactly what they need to work on.
What types of materials do you typically use during a tutoring session?
Just pencil and scratch paper. Dry erase board. A graphing calculator when needed-- I typically try to discourage the use of calculators for simple arithmetic.