Personal Description:

Hello! My name is Ada and I will be entering my third year of McMaster University's Engineering Physics program this fall. I have experience doing research in biophotonics over two summers under one of my professors, and it will be the focus of my degree as I complete my education. I have a great passion for sharing my knowledge of STEM and would love the opportunity to get more students interested in science and truly enjoy their studying. My motto for learning anything is Make It Fun to Make It Stick, as I believe the reason many students don't do well in some subjects is that material is often presented to them in a dry, overly technical manner that doesn't engage their natural curiosity. I believe all people have an innate drive to learn, and that learning is valuable for its own sake apart from strictly academic goals. Aside from physics, my other interests include playing piano, reading, writing, and singing.

Tutoring Experience:

I was a volunteer tutor in high school and it was definitely one of my favourite experiences. Although I emphasized that students should fully grasp the concepts they were learning instead of focusing on their grades, it was very amazing to, for example, see one of my students go from a 65 on their last math test before we started our sessions to a 100 on their next test - and the best part was seeing how happy and proud they were themselves! Since then, I admittedly have not done any formal tutoring, but I always enjoy collaborating with my classmates to understand various concepts in my engineering program.

Tutoring Approach:

As stated above, my approach to tutoring is not focused on maximizing a student's grade, but getting them to fully understand what they are learning so they can apply it not just on their next quiz but at any time in their life. I want students to enjoy their study time so it almost doesn't feel like work, but stay committed when the content gets difficult or the work feels tedious. I believe that when a student is passionate and committed about learning for the sake of learning, academic achievement naturally flows from that, and it will set them up for a lifetime of success - long after they've completed their formal studies.

In short, my approach is: 1) Learn about the student's interests. 2) Gauge the student's interest in the concept/topic itself. 2) Present the topic in an engaging, relevant way that the student can relate to. 3) Ask the student to walk through the concepts and formulate them in their own words, using metaphors, imagery, anything that will both strengthen their understanding and help them remember it. 4) Get the student to apply the new concept on a specific task (i.e. a homework problem), and apply it to new tasks regularly over days or weeks until it becomes second nature. 5) Have them set small goals and larger goals to keep them motivated, and to develop a habit of studying.

I believe every student is unique, so I will always tailor my tutoring to their specific needs, current level of understanding, and level of interest.