Personal Description:

Dedicated Biology teacher in the region for over 25 years.
Am told I am one of the "best teachers in my school" as I give my students respect, caring and compassion while also being firm enough to help them be motivated to develop to their full potential. I love what I teach and am passionate about passing this on to my students.
I have a lot of experience teaching students with a wide variety of needs and learning styles. Sometimes the traditional classroom pace is too fast and students feel overwhelmed and anxious. I pride myself on being able to increase students confidence in the material thus removing a lot of anxiety faced when one feels overwhelmed. This ultimately leads to much greater success in the course.

Tutoring Experience:

Have been teaching grade 11, 12 and AP Biology at a highly ranked secondary school in the region for over 25 years.
Also am extremely familiar with curriculum in grade 9, 10 science.
I also teach AP exam readiness courses for those that want to write the AP exam - am extremely familiar with the format etc.
Lead teacher in a specialist program that allows students to experience hands on learning in subjects that relate to health and wellness and also connects me to professionals in these fields. The knowledge I gain from this I can pass on to my students.
Able to give current details about post-secondary pathways as my role in my school gives me a lot of access to the various universities and their admission requirements. ( I routinely take student groups on tours and sit in on lectures.)

Tutoring Approach:

Problem based learning is a key focus of today's science courses in most universities and this is the area in which high school students typically struggle. My focus is to develop skills in my students so they are able to reach their full potential in high school and then also succeed once they are in university. In our first meeting I will establish the students learning needs and goals and then work on a collaborative plan to reach these goals.

My style encourages curiosity and critical thinking, teaches students to be self-directed while still developing deep understanding of the topics.
I believe in order to understand and learn the fine details that are so much a part of Biology, students need to see the big picture first. In my classes/tutoring I start with this focus and then narrow down to the details so students truly understand the material. This makes it easier to study and then demonstrate their understanding on assessments.

I am familiar with the textbooks commonly used in grade 11, 12 and first year university (AP level) and therefore know the types of assignments and labs that are most often used. The students I tutor will have access to the slide decks that I use in my own classroom, as well as practice assessments to help them prepare for their own assessments.