Maia
Certified Tutor
I graduated from Yale University in May with a major in Literature, and currently work as a high school English teacher. My thesis explored the use of mise en abyme, a post-modern literary device, in graphic novels. My six years of work as an outdoor instructor in Vermont have nurtured my passion for experiential education, which I have completed through my work as a writing and French tutor. I have extensive experience editing college essays and helping students prepare for the Writing and Reading sections of standardized tests. I love canoeing, reading, and being outsideI'm always ready for the next adventure.
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Undergraduate Degree: Yale University - Bachelor in Arts, General Literature
- SAT Composite (1600 scale): 1530
- SAT Verbal: 800
- SAT Writing: 800
Outdoor education, canoeing, literature
- ACT Writing
- African-American History
- American Literature
- AP Art History
- AP English Literature and Composition
- AP French Language and Culture
- AP Latin
- AP World History
- British Literature
- College Application Essays
- College English
- College Level American Literature
- Comparative Literature
- Conversational French
- Creative Writing
- English
- English Grammar and Syntax
- ESL/ELL
- Essay Editing
- Expository Writing
- Fiction Writing
- Foreign Language
- French
- French 1
- French 2
- French 3
- French 4
- Graduate Test Prep
- GRE Verbal
- High School English
- High School Level American Literature
- High School Writing
- Languages
- Other
- PSAT Writing Skills
- SAT Reading
- SAT Subject Test in French with Listening
- SAT Subject Test in Latin
- SAT Subject Test in United States History
- SAT Subject Test in World History
- SAT Subject Tests Prep
- SAT Writing and Language
- Social Studies
- Test Prep
- World Literature
- Writing
What is your teaching philosophy?
I empower students to have the self-confidence to take a deep breath, and guide them through the process of figure out the answer for themselves.
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
In a typical first session, I would introduce myself, ask the students what his/her/their goals were, set expectations for what the tutor-tutee relationship will look like, and begin reviewing and establishing foundational knowledge in the subject.
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
Using an experiential learning model, I have students reflect on what they did, draw out a larger conclusion, and come up with examples of how they can use those skills in future academic situations.
How would you help a student stay motivated?
Specific positive reinforcement that targets specific things a student is doing well helps the student feel as though they have strengths in a given subject area.
How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?
I go sentence by sentence and have students identify words they find challenging and/or don't know. I then have them break words into parts to help them generate the answers on their own.
What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?
I find it most helpful to identify a student's goals and set expectations for what the tutor-tutee relationship will look like. What does the student want out of the tutoring sessions? What are the student's long- and short-term goals?
How would you help a student get excited/engaged with a subject that they are struggling in?
When a student is struggling, I try to use analogies that directly relate to their interests, so that they gradually become more engaged in the subject.
What techniques would you use to be sure that a student understands the material?
I ask the students to explain the concept to me in their own words, and to apply the concept on their own to problems without guidance.
How do you build a student's confidence in a subject?
Specific, positive reinforcement--even if it's something small--can help a student feel successful. Even if a paragraph in an essay is wonky, you can still say something like "Your topic sentence did a really nice job of connecting back to your thesis; you are very aware of your argument."
How do you evaluate a student's needs?
A student generally knows their needs best. Before I start tutoring, I like to ask what the student would like to work on, and ask what feedback they have gotten from others. This approach helps identify a student's weak points.