Personal Description:

My name is Farah and I am a pre-service teacher currently completing my Masters of Teaching at OISE, University of Toronto. Following graduation next year, I will be an OCT certified teacher.
I completed my undergraduate studies with a double major in Biology and Psychology from the University of Toronto. My teachable is Science (general), and I will be formally qualified to teach mathematics up to grade 8.

Tutoring Experience:

I have taught both math and science in public elementary schools during practicum placements. My experience ranges from being in a classroom with students as young as 3 years old (Montessori school students) to as old as high school students (math and science tutoring). My experience at a private Montessori school taught me to be accountable and creative with my approaches to instruction. My experience in public school classrooms taught me classroom management, student records management, age-appropriate instructional design, tailoring curriculum plans, and effective communication. I hope to implement what I have learned from my teaching experiences in the learning environment during tutoring sessions.

Tutoring Approach:

If the goal is to learn a concept in math, or science, or improve one's writing, most tutors will achieve this goal in increments until eventually, the learner shows improvement; knowledge acquisition will take place; in large or small increments, but it will take place, regardless of the tutor; this is the growth-mindset. I believe what's even more important is the connection a teacher develops with one's students. It is through this connection and rapport that students learn the best; as it provides a medium through which the teacher may make a concept more relatable to a student. There are many factors that influence a student's learning, and simply focusing on "knowledge acquisition" is like training just one muscle every time one goes to the gym. To put this into perspective, consider the study done by Beilock, Park, and Ramirez (2014) called "The Role of Expressive Writing in Math Anxiety". These researchers found that the act of writing out one's anxious thoughts about math prior to taking a math test improved "high-math-anxious" individuals scores on the math test, making them indistinguishable from the scores of "low-math-anxious individuals". What this means is, if tutors simply focus on knowledge acquisition as opposed to considering the other factors that play a role in learning, then they are creating an inequitable space for learners. My approach to tutoring is thus to improve knowledge acquisition but also use differentiated instructional strategies that help students not just learn, but learn better.