KM Tutoring

1) Develop trust and aim for a win on the first assignment.

Form a baseline of the student's knowledge and begin to develop trust.

Ask the student to share where they are stumbling. Ask questions about prior knowledge. Learn what prompted the student / student's parents to ask for help now.

2) Have the student pick the first problem in the current assignment that they do not understand. As the student begins working, showing knowledge and confusion, I learn where and how to help them succeed on this very first problem. We work through a few problems in this way.

3) When the student is ready, we step back and look at the remaining problems (still in this first assignment). We begin sorting the problems that are similar to those on which the student has already worked. How are some problems different? How might we tackle those? Develop strategies for seeing problems in groupings rather than as each on an individual challenge.

4) Have the student work through what s/he sees as the more challenging problems while "sitting" beside me. 

Doctorate in Mathematics

MS in Mathematics

BS in Journalism

5-Star Teacher

Selected to be National Science Foundation Faculty for the 21st Century

Selected to belong to the NSF Change Agents' Round Table on improving math education

Contributor to NCTM Math Standards and AAAS Science Benchmarks

Author of mathematics curricula, particularly integrating mathematics with other subjects

Pricing depends on the level of mathematics, the frequency of tutoring and the duration of tutoring. I try to help students progress so that they need me less and less, typically from two or three times a week to weekly, bi-weekly, and, finally, just as needed with challenges or before big exams.

Sessions can last 45 minutes or an hour. Price per hour ranges from $35 to $55/hour. In general, purchasing a block of sessions (5, 10, ...) reduces the cost per hour by $5/ hour to as much as $10/ hour.

I wanted to help people open doors that may seem closed to them: education can be that opportunity. I chose mathematics as it is often seen as the critical gatekeeper. Unlocking mathematics opens many educational and career opportunities.

I have worked with students of virtually all types:

Students who struggle every day with math, who do not believe that they have "the math gene".

Strong students trying to understand one or two tough concepts

Inner city, suburban, Black, White, Latino

Students pursuing engineering degrees and students who don't yet understand decimal addition

I have not worked as frequently with students who are not fluent in English.

1) Make sure the teacher knows a lot more math than they are teaching. This makes it easier for the teacher to understand how and why a student takes a different approach toward a problem.

2) Make sure the teacher cares whether or not the student learns. The learning is the student's responsibility, but a caring teacher can make an enormous difference.

3) Get a sense for how reliable the tutor will be: You don't want your child relying on the help of someone who only shows sporadically.

Is your challenge with math a one-time event or has this persisted throughout your schooling?

When do you last remember feeling successful in math?

What does "success" in math look like?