Isabel
Certified Tutor
Hello everyone! I am a current third year medical student who is pursuing a medical career today thanks to a few very special mentors in my academic life. My goal as a tutor is to instill in my students an excitement for learning that encourages them to reach higher goals on their own. I believe math is the gateway subject that allows students to build confidence and tackle virtually every other subject. I also love learning and speaking new languages, which is a cultural window to a world of people that we were never privy to before. I would like to pass this love of languages on to my students as well.
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Undergraduate Degree: CUNY City College - Bachelors, Liberal Arts
Graduate Degree: Trinity School of Medicine - Current Grad Student, Doctor of Medicine
Petting all animals, discovering great new music, and traveling.
What is your teaching philosophy?
The Socratic method: encouraging students to engage in critical thinking is without a doubt the most powerful teaching tool to this day. If you give a student all of the answers they will never know the whys and hows. Painful though it may be, a student's confidence will increase as they realize they can arrive at correct conclusions on their own.
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
First things first: discussing goals, needs, and scheduling are must dos. Asking essential questions to assess where the student is in the subject comes next. Introducing a few concepts and giving the student something to work on until the next session finishes the session nicely.
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
Encouraging a train of thought is the most powerful learning tool out there. Students must know that he can think through a problem when on their own. Acknowledging every step a student makes in the right direction builds confidence, and there is no substitute for a confident student. Suggesting good study habits is also indispensable.
How would you help a student stay motivated?
Emphasizing the progress my student makes is the best motivation. As long as they have improved since the first session, that should serve as motivation to keep going.
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
Finding different ways to explain a concept can be challenging. Luckily in math there are many ways of arriving at a conclusion. My method always works; ask the students questions, questions, and more questions. This way it is easier to see where the error in thought is made or which concept needs to be instilled via repetition.
How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?
You break down each sentence right down to the definition of words. We stop after each sentence and ask questions about what we have just read. We stop after each paragraph and summarize what we have read so far.
What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?
Asking questions and encouraging original thought, giving plenty of practice questions, and repetition, repetition, repetition!
How do you adapt your tutoring to the student's needs?
I never talk on and on during tutoring sessions. At every step of the way, I must confirm that my student is still following. That lets me know whether to slow down or speed up.
What types of materials do you typically use during a tutoring session?
Blank pieces of paper, pencils, colored pens, and YouTube music if teaching language!
How would you help a student get excited/engaged with a subject that they are struggling in?
Building a student's confidence is number one. We start at the very bottom and celebrate each step on the way up. We spend as much time as we need to get the job done, every time.
What techniques would you use to be sure that a student understands the material?
The right question easily reveals and allows me to assess a student's understanding. Questions must be asked throughout the entirety of the tutoring session.
How do you build a student's confidence in a subject?
Allowing a student to voice out loud what they do know about a subject or dumping all of that knowledge on a piece of paper allows them to see how far they have come, and helps them understand that their current knowledge is not as minimal as they may think.
How do you evaluate a student's needs?
Look at a student's work. This is the clearest way to evaluate what their strengths and weaknesses are quickly.