HS And College Math Tutoring

I tutor a variety of math subjects, from High School SAT prep to algebra, trigonometry, geometry, pre-calculus, calculus, finite math, logic, probability and statistics.

I started to tutor math when I was a university student - and ended as a professor supervising Ph.D. students in computer science and bio-engineering at the UIC. I have taught college math on all levels for eighteen years, including advanced subjects like complex variable, abstract algebra, numerical analysis and mathematical pattern recognition. I have a Ph.D. in Physics with postgraduate studies in Applied Mathematics, exceeding the requirements for the M.S. in Mathematics. I have used applied mathematics approaches in R&D, both in academia and industry and I also occasionally consult in data analysis and statistics.

To quote a UN worldwide study, 7 out of 10 high school students seek tutor help. I guess, most of us do not find math an easy subject. You may remember the feeling when the teacher states the math problem and quickly writes the solution on the board. Most of it just flies by you and you are too embarrassed to ask the teacher to repeat it slowly and in more detail or some other way. And none of your friends asks either. They must understand it, right? You need more than a tutor, you need a mentor who not only knows the subject inside out but also can keep the student motivated. I am that person.

I tailor my tutoring to each individual student's needs. There are two mutually complementary approaches to mastering math: theory (concepts) and exercises (problem solving). To master the theory, we will look at the concepts from several different angles to get the full picture, with all similarities, differences and exceptions that may come into the play. However, one cannot master mathematics, to become proficient, without work on challenging problems. The life experience in applied mathematics helped me not only to show the connection between the "textbook world" and the "real world" but also made me flexible to choose different approaches when the student develops a "mental block". I teach different solving strategies and help to develop mathematical intuition of braking complex problems into simple ones. Then I probe along the periphery of the problems to assure their full understanding. If necessary, I will assign an additional homework.

The latest findings in the psychology of learning show that - and my experience confirms it - a good one-on-one teaching moves the student's performance up by more than 1.5 standard deviation, i.e., a student at the lowest 6% of the class tends to move above the average, and an average student into the top 6% of the class. That definitely validates tutoring effort.

Being retired, I am very flexible, from late morning to early evening.

However, my policy is: if you're not totally satisfied with the session, then I will not bill you for it.

Passing knowledge and self confidence.