Stockwell Tutoring

Sometimes in the process of teaching one is struck by some odd connections. I tutor both math and stats, and had a discussion about the different formulas we have for doing hypothesis testing and confidence intervals. As a new student of stats, it can seem very intimidating. But I was thinking about what it was that do that makes it easier for me to sort them out. Mathematicians are often good at recognizing patterns. And the difference is that I try to see how all the formulas are similar and instead of how they are unlike. The analogy I came up with yesterday was foreign language learning. For example, French, Spanish and Italian are Romance languages, and since I already know French, connecting Spanish and Italian to French makes it easier to learn the other two. (Also, Dutch has a lot of similarities to German!) It may seem quite obvious, but using an example with languages sometimes makes it easier to see how that works with math too.

The other day, a student who was in the chat room overheard what I told another student about taking notes/ writing out homework so that he can understand them in three weeks when he reviews. It was a homework problem that involved multiple steps, and he had had things very squished, so very hard to read and find out where he made mistakes. We started over and I actually missed a few numbers or signs myself at first, but because of how I'd written things, it was easy to spot. I didn't mean to make the mistakes, of course, but kind of proved my point. Anyway, the student who overheard it made a point of telling me that nobody had really put it to her that way, and it was a really good point I was making. I really appreciate knowing that what I'm telling students is making a difference. And once more for the back of the room : Your work isn't just for the teacher. You should write so you can understand things when it comes time to review or study for a test. (And, as Detective Monk says, you'll thank me later...)

Couple of weeks into the summer term at PCC, made it through record high temps. We're still tutoring over zoom, and that's what I'm still doing. The summer is a good time to relax, and also a time to brush up on some stuff to get ready for fall classes. We can do it nice and slow without having to worry about keeping to a class schedule. Can you believe it's almost mid July?! If you live in Portland, the public libraries might be open soon, and I might be able to do some in person tutoring. (Masked up please.). As we're all still adjusting to things opening up, keep your spirits up, keep cool, and much success in your academic pursuits!

Sorry for not having updated... It's been a challenging year, and so hard to imagine that it's already been a year since we all scrambled to learn from behind our computers. I've been so grateful to see the progress that students have made in spite of that. It is a true testament to their hard work and resilience, and I'm glad to have been able to help. Keep it up and stay safe. Reach out to me if you need help. I'm happy to see that PCC continues to do on line teaching in order to keep everyone healthy. Be gentle and take care of each other! ❤❤

December already, which means only a few weeks left before the end of classes. Hope everyone is hanging in there. PCC people, the virtual student learning center is still there for you. Also, I can do private tutoring through zoom.

Had a very interesting experience tutoring this morning. I was in my little zoom room, minding business, when along comes a chemistry student from some other institution. (I also tutor as a part of consortium of schools.). She took a chance because she though the assignment was mostly math, and the chem rooms were full. It was about reactions, limiting agents, etc, which I had little recollection about. (The last time I had chem was in high school.). Somehow we muddled through and got all three question right! Two of them even on the first try. As much as I enjoyed it though, I hope she finds a chem person to help her next time. Logic helped this time, but I can't be sure about future problems!