Gita
Certified Tutor
My teaching specialties include Biology, Psychology, the Life Sciences, Reading, Writing, and preparation for verbal and writing test sections. I studied Biology at Cornell University, graduating with Honors in 2009, and earned a Master's in Psychology from the University of Chicago in 2010. I currently tutor students ranging from elementary to high school in critical reading and analytical writing, both as part of SAT prep and in the context of English and Social Studies classwork. I have a long history of teaching, starting with tutoring students in the introductory biology lecture at Cornell after I earned an A+ in the class. My passion for science education led me to volunteer with Roots and Shoots, an environmental education organization, to teach hands-on workshops for young children at the local science center about topics such as flower anatomy, animal tracks, and the popular 'egg drop'. I was also a peer counselor and trained incoming counselors, which involved teaching in front of large groups and leading small-group exercises. For my Master's thesis research, I became a research assistant at the Lincoln Park Zoo, studying the behavior of chimpanzees and gorillas. I frequently interacted with zoo guests as I collected my data and enjoyed teaching them about ape behavior, care, and conservation. Most recently, I took on students in my hometown of West Windsor, NJ as I prepared my Master's thesis for publication in a scientific journal.
Motivating the next generation to be enthusiastic scholars and engaged citizens is one of my primary goals. I am particularly adept at communicating complex ideas, and I am eager to share this skill with younger students. In college I took several writing-intensive classes in my biology major, and I further honed my writing skill in my undergraduate Honor's thesis and my Master's thesis, which has been published. I scored very highly in the verbal and writing sections on the SAT and GRE, and I am well-placed to help your student improve his or her score as well as better comprehend and communicate his or her own ideas.
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Undergraduate Degree:Cornell University- Bachelor of Science, Biology, General
Graduate Degree:University of Chicago- Master of Arts, Psychology
Animals, science, outdoors, hiking, museums, playing with my dog, cooking, baking, yoga, lacrosse
- Advanced Placement Prep
- Anatomy
- Anatomy & Physiology
- Biology
- College Biology
- College English
- College Essays
- English
- English Grammar and Syntax
- Essay Editing
- French 1
- French 2
- Graduate Test Prep
- GRE Verbal
- High School Biology
- High School English
- Other
- Psychology
- Reading
- SAT Reading
- SAT Writing and Language
- Science
- Social Sciences
- Study Skills
- Study Skills and Organization
- Test Prep
- Writing
What is your teaching philosophy?
There is no single correct way to approach learning; I collaborate with students and customize our lessons to play to their strengths.
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
The first thing I do is establish the student's goals and the context for the tutoring, so that we can work towards concrete results. I ask them in detail about the class or test with which I will help them, what they find especially difficult, and what they have found helpful in similar past situations. It is also important to dive into the material so that we can start making progress!
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
My sessions revolve around helping students figure out what works best for them as individuals. I help my students find and strengthen the techniques that come most easily to them, and use the flexibility that tutoring offers to focus on their interests in order to motivate them to engage the material on their own.