Allan Math Tutoring

I'm Dalton, an MIT mathematician. I tutored in math and physics for 5 years at Saginaw Valley State University and privately in Michigan, helped teach high school classes locally and college classes at SVSU as well, and routinely caught my fellow MIT students up to speed on advanced subjects completely outside their fields once I moved to Massachusetts. Most of those I have taught are in the high school and early college range due to when specific math classes tend to take place. The majority of subjects I have worked with have ranged from high school algebra to college calculus-level classes. In addition to serving as a tutor, I coached a team for the Math Counts competition, scored well in local and national math competitions like AIME, AMC, and the Michigan Mathematics Prize Competition, and was a counselor at the MathFit Plus summer program for incoming freshmen at SVSU.

The most common setting for my teaching has been either in a classroom, as a "recitation instructor" or second lecturer for the primary professor, or one on one in an adaptable space where individual students could register sessions with me and could bring any questions or specific difficulties from their subjects to me. For one on one tutoring and school help, I work well with self-motivated students who are willing to also practice on their own time or read up on a subject if necessary, and who will bring their questions to me and work through them instead of waiting passively as if in a lecture. I can provide external practice question sources and further reading on subjects if applicable. Teaching as a lecturer or teaching an entire class, I find better suited to groups. If so desired, however, I can work out materials for that format for a single student. In general, regardless of material and format, self-initiative and a desire to learn will be a good match for my abilities. The more the student participates and engages, the better their experience with me will be.

My tutoring style outside the lecture setting has always been a personal, one-on-one assistance tailored to each individual based on their initial understanding of the material, but focusing on starting from the very base line of the subject. I believe in teaching from first principles, the proverbial "teaching a person to fish" -- because unlike rote memorization, deeply understanding a subject from basic tenets will enable a student to teach themselves in the future and apply their understanding to situations and questions far outside the reach of any particular class. Not only do I thoroughly help students through their individual questions, but I also break down those questions in a way that allows them to apply the basics of the subject easily to what they're having trouble with and build an answer from the ground up. Next time they encounter a similar but not identical situation, they will have the tools to conquer it. I've had great success in the past instructing in this way! I am patient and straightforward in my tutoring, so if students want to learn, I want to teach, and I hope to extend the effects of my lessons beyond their immediate needs and into the rest of their education.

Please contact me if you think I would be a good match for your math and physics needs! I have a very open schedule and can travel anywhere on public transit in the Boston metro and North Shore areas. Right now, I'm available morning and afternoon; I can do lunch meetings, after school, or between classes if necessary. I also am fine teaching online. Please let me know your preferences, and we can work out something to meet your needs. I look forward to meeting you and growing your understanding!

I enjoy seeing students learn the material deeply and find their own intuition for their work. In the end, as much as I love teaching, watching them become independent in their studies is just as great a reward. It moves students from a feeling of falling behind to one of "I can learn this," and that transition is, in the end, its own reward for both teacher and student.