"I am a licensed Social worker with tutoring experience in and out of college. I have the most experience in tutoring act prep , algebra, and all kinds of alternative learners that are often labeled as disabled because not mainstream in the way they learn. I enjoy helping students learn to learn and think critically .

I believe that people learn the best when they understand the meaning and logic behind what they are learning. When a student can see a pattern develop they develop an understanding that can be universally applied to many different areas of study and life circumstances. Learning is different then memorizing. It is especially important to understand the concepts behind the subject matter when planning continue in a similar learning subject.

Students learn well in collaborative brain storming because they are 80% more likely to remember the material that they struggled to learn with little information. Imperial evidence suggests that simply giving a student the material in lecture format without challenging then FIRST to try to figure it out without all the information isn't as effective.

The process and struggle gives a student new brain cells and creates multiple paths to achieve the answers. The lecture gives one path and doesn't give enough stimuli for the brain to want to store that memory.

I have worked with students individually a lot more than I have in groups. There are many strategies that are each valid based on the learner. Some students who needed a higher score benefitted from mastering one subject and get the same score on the other 3 to raise the entire average. The ideal, however, is to master all 4 subjects. This can be done if planned right. It's ideal to spend summer before junior year mastering 2 subjects, take test as often as you can afford, spend summer before senior year mastering the other 2 subjects and reviewing the rest and taking it 2-3 times before application deadlines are due ( some colleges are due January senior year). I've never had a student that had the time to do it that way so I'm also good at helping students prioritize and utilize the time they have away from classes like on their winter and summer vacations. They still get a lot of time to relax on break because this is also a crucial factor in staying open to learn. It isn't always a choice we can make so I encourage balance in my students lives.

I like to prepare for tutoring sessions by

reviewing the subject matter from the previous session and ask about any practice the student accomplished. I like to reflect at the end of each session to effectively help the student evaluate what they liked , what worked,what didn't ,what stimuli was most effective in learning today , etc . The rest is student focused and driven and the reflection time is one valuable way I can hear the student tell me outright what fits and what isn't making sense and why" less...