Kelsey

I have been a high school math teacher since 2015 and a math tutor since 2012. I have a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Colorado State University and I am fluent in Spanish. I have taught grades 6-College in various schools and universities in the United States and Latin America.

My tutoring style:

I believe that all students have the potential to learn math and feel confident in their abilities. Each student comes into tutoring with different experiences and beliefs about who they are as a math learner. My goal is to meet that student where they are and help them build the habits and skills they need to achieve their goals in math.

It is often said that practice makes perfect. However, I believe that it is the right type of practice that makes the biggest impact on true understanding. Through conversation about mathematics problems, we will work together to highlight strengths in understanding and identify and dive deep into areas of growth. I ask probing questions and help the student discover the mathematical ideas. This self-discovery helps the student build a more stable foundation as they continue on their math journey.

Success story:

Throughout my mathematics teaching and tutoring career, I have learned that every student has their own story and mindset about math. There tends to be a moment in a student's journey that defines what they believe about who they are as a math learner.

One of my student's defining moments in math was due to some difficulties she was having in her personal life outside of academics. This experience caused her to disconnect for a short period to focus more on personal healing. Since math concepts build on themselves and the math class continued in its pace, she was left with several big gaps in her understanding. Over the next couple of years she had lost her confidence in math and the gaps became even larger. Because of this, she became reserved and unwilling to participate in her math classes.

When we started working together, and after we built trust in each other, she was willing to work alongside me to put in the time and effort to identify and fill-in these gaps. Little-by-little she started restoring her confidence by finding small successes along the journey to understanding. She built healthy habits and skills that were transferable to understanding new math content.

Confidence, excitement and belief in herself grew. She came to me after a few months of hard work and perseverance and cheerfully said, “Today the teacher asked me to explain this concept to a few others in the class. Even though I wasn't completely sure of the final answer, I knew that I could figure it out by discussing it with my classmates!”

It was in this moment of reflection that she was able to see her transformation and growth. She realized that it wasn't always about getting the "right” answer but about having the confidence to try.

Hobbies and interests:

Languages (I speak Spanish fluently and am now learning Portuguese); Travel (I love to explore other cultures and countries!); Music (My Spotify playlists are quite eclectic and I am always looking for new suggestions); Entrepreneurship (I'm currently on an entrepreneurship learning journey as my husband and I are starting a coffee farm!)