Spencer
Certified Tutor
I grew up just outside of St. Cloud, MN and I started attending college at St. Cloud State University. I originally wanted to get my degree in Mechanical Engineering but I was not exactly up to that challenge. After my second year, I switched to Accounting. I enjoyed the subject and I was good at it, really good. My family moved to Roanoke County, VA soon after and I made the transfer to Radford University (RU). I graduated from RU in August 2015 with a double major in Accounting and Finance. Today, I work at a CPA firm in southeastern Pennsylvania.
I have tutored at Radford University and at Sylvan Learning Centers for about 2 years of combined experience. I have tutored children as young as 9 and as old as 30 in topics from basic math to the fundamentals of accounting and even early single-variable calculus. I enjoy tutoring because I get to see a direct result of my work and efforts along with the student.
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Undergraduate Degree:Radford University- Bachelor in Business Administration, Accounting/Finance
I enjoy fantasy football during the season and the rest of my spare time is taken up by studying for my CPA Exam.
- Accounting
- Algebra
- Algebra 2
- Arithmetic
- Business
- College Accounting
- College Algebra
- College Business
- College Economics
- Economics
- Elementary Math
- Elementary School Math
- High School Accounting
- High School Business
- High School Economics
- Math
- Microeconomics
- Middle School Math
- Pre-Algebra
What is your teaching philosophy?
That can really vary based on what kind of student I have. With a student looking to get ahead, I want to challenge them and find that ceiling and them help them break through it. With a student far behind, I have found that patience is really the key. They will have questions and I will search for a reasonable answer for them. With a student that is behind, I can go back, pick them up, and help them catch up.
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
That can really come down to teaching study skills, such as making their own flashcards. Not everyone can look at a textbook and get it all in. Teach them how to find the basic concepts and go from there.
How would you help a student stay motivated?
Give them a goal and, if possible, some kind of reward for getting there. Positive reinforcement helps. I have also told students my story of when I felt rather beat down academically, and how I came back.
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
Simplify it. Take a step back. If a student has a problem about a $10,000 investment, make it a $1 investment. Other things I have include giving them a problem and letting them go until they get stuck. Or even work one with them and see where I lose them.
What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?
Do a warm-up problem. It gets them started and gives a little confidence boost. Let them get to know you personally a bit.
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
Spend some time getting to know them and see what makes them tick. Then, move on to do some simpler and then more complex problems to gauge where the student is with the topic.