Sean
Certified Tutor
I have more than four years of classroom experience in the Chicago area, as well as Mainland China. I specialize in teaching English as a Second Language (ESL), Algebra I, Algebra II, Geometry, as well as junior high and elementary school math.
In the high school setting, I have taught Geometry, Algebra I, and ESL. My teaching style for students of this age is to provide plenty of opportunity for in-class practice and feedback -- which came both from me and other students. Since students learn via a variety of styles (kinesthetic, visual, auditory), I always tried to incorporate all three elements in each example I introduced. My students would say that I am a good motivator, and always am patient when guiding them on problems.
I also have extensive tutoring experience, having created and run an after school tutoring program at two different schools. At an elementary school, I tutored kindergarten bilingual (Spanish) students in math, reading, and English. At the high school level, I tutored math of all levels, from Algebra I to Trigonometry. I also have worked as an ESL Reading Aide for K-6 students, where I taught phonics, reading, and writing to newly arrived ESL students.
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Undergraduate Degree:Valparaiso University- Bachelors, Spanish
Graduate Degree: Hong Kong University of Science and Technology - Masters, Master of Business Adminstration
All sports (especially basketball), learning languages (Chinese, Spanish, Portuguese), traveling, reading
- Algebra
- Algebra 2
- College Algebra
- Conversational Mandarin
- Conversational Spanish
- ESL/ELL
- Geometry
- Languages
- Mandarin Chinese
- Mandarin Chinese 1
- Mandarin Chinese 2
- Mandarin Chinese 3
- Math
- Middle School Math
- Other
- Pre-Algebra
- Spanish
- Spanish 1
- Spanish 2
- Summer
- Writing
What is your teaching philosophy?
I view myself as a facilitator of information for students. I believe that students learn best when they make their own discoveries -- which comes through guidance and frameworks laid out by their teachers.
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
I like to start out with a brief icebreaker activity, and then get into a discussion about goals, areas of difficulty, academic history, etc. It's also good to review learning style preferences, if these are known. Once we are clear on our goals and learning style(s), we can proceed with the topic at hand.