Personal Description:

Hi, my name is Mira, and I am a fourth-year student in the Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Honours Program at the University of Alberta. I have been playing piano ever since I could walk, and have been volunteering as a piano tutor in underfunded schools with EPSB since 2017 with the U of A's Heart of the City Music Program. I also have work experience as a lifeguard, swim instructor, and piano teacher for about 3 years now. In my degree, I specialize in genetics, molecular biology, and psychology, but I also have experience in up to second-year university level Chemistry, Physics (non-calculus based physics), Math (calculus, linear algebra), and French. I have excelled in these courses during highschool as well scoring well above 90% in all my high school courses.

My experience is diverse as I have been volunteering with a non-profit based in Alberta running global development projects in East Africa and local projects here in rural towns across Alberta. Currently, I serve as President of this organization; SIHA. I enjoy hiking, chess, and painting in my free time.

Tutoring Experience:

I am a fourth-year student in the Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Honours Program at the University of Alberta.
I have volunteered as a piano tutor in underfunded schools with EPSB since 2017 with the U of A's Heart of the City Music Program.
I also have general work experience teaching as a lifeguard, swim instructor, and piano teacher for about 3 years now at WEM, Kinsmen Sports Centre, and at home respectively (until the pandemic shutdowns in 2019).
I also have experience in up to second-year university level Chemistry, Physics (non-calculus based physics), Math (calculus, linear algebra), and French.
I have excelled in these courses during highschool as well scoring well above 90% in all my high school courses.

Tutoring Approach:

My approach to tutoring is in making a well-established study routine with students in conjunction with tangible examples and a structured learning module format to cover all necessary materials.
My tutoring sessions generally will appear as follows:
(1) Start with a concept example to get the student thinking.
(2) Follow along with a lesson plan highlighting key materials and concepts to address student's questions
(3) Go through answers with students to understand their critical thinking process and implement corrections here
(4) Send students a copy of the notes from the session with additional resources to ready to continually solidify their understanding.

This way of teaching encourages study behaviors such as active recall, which is supported by recent scientific studies in learning and memory.
Of course, this is what a typical tutoring session would look like. However, it can change according to the student's needs.
Tutoring before an exam day could involve more of objectives (3) and (4) outlined above (going through obscure questions/concepts and clarifying them).
If a student prefers less structure, depending on their schedule (high school students are much busier than elementary school students) I would prioritize a Q&A format. If the student is younger, I would prioritize more structure, and engaging examples to keep a student engaged.

I would also follow a similar format with piano lessons by teaching songs and hand exercises in a lesson format.