Stephen

I have been tutoring since 2013. I received my bachelor’s degree in History & Philosophy from Drew University. I continued onto a Master’s program in Neurobiology & Behavior at Columbia University and published a book on Value Theory & Ethics while attending.

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Tutoring subjects:

I have tutored in various subjects both as part of formal academic programs and in informal one-to-one settings. These include: SAT English & Math, ACT English, Science, & Math, ISEE, SSAT, SHSAT, and course subjects such as Undergraduate Physics, Biology, Chemistry, Statistics, Essay Writing, French, Philosophy, and Antebellum & Postbellum American History.

Ages I’ve worked with:

I have worked with students from almost all age ranges. I have taught not only group classes & individual sessions for elementary & middle-school students, but also high-school students, undergraduate students, and some older adults.

My tutoring style:

I incorporate a profound truth from my studies of neurobiology into my pedagogical process, namely that our brain is “neuroplastic” and can therefore change over time depending on how we train it. My goal is always to subtly encourage the student to embrace a growth mindset rather than a fixed one, while asking targeted questions to help them explicitly trace their thought process in order to develop better learning strategies.

The science is clear that, while we all learn in slightly different ways, we all have roughly the same ability to understand and master the same information. Learning is just as much about inspiring a motivation to learn as it is about the information itself. Therefore, my teaching goal revolves around helping the student develop belief in their abilities and utilizing that to empower them in the hard work it will take to succeed.

Success story:

The best rewards I have received from teaching have been psychical. One of the most recent cases involves a student who was performing fairly well on his ACT but wanted a score that would enable him to get into some of the top schools on his wish list. I advised him that it would not be easy but that it was doable to get him where he needed to be. After diligent effort on both of our parts, he achieved a 5-point increase on his English and a 4-point increase on his Math, significant increases for the ACT. The long e-mail he personally wrote to me after receiving his score report made it all worth it.