Personal Description:

I am a qualified librarian with an education degree, and my areas of focus include English, history/Canadian social studies, introductory Canadian law/sociology, and research methods. I also proofread, edit, and index on a casual basis.

Tutoring Experience:

I taught two practicums in classrooms as part of earning my secondary education degree, and volunteered in several youth groups as an instructor. I've found that my forte is in individual instruction, and my main experience has been in assisting students with writing clearly and accurately while avoiding inadvertent plagiarism.

Tutoring Approach:

My main approach to tutoring is to help the student use what they already know to guide them through solving problems on their own. When it comes to writing essays, for example, I'll ask the student to outline or say out loud what it is they want to say about their topic, then guide them through the process of finding support for their topic sentences, rephrasing informal speech, and proofreading for clarity. For subjects like social studies, which require evidence of critical thinking at the middle school/high school level, I'll help them break down high level questions into more manageable parts, allow them to construct their own responses to each part, and then guide them into forming a coherent whole using evidence to support their opinions. Subjects like English and social studies are often tough for students because while there isn't always a right or wrong answer, there is usually a right or wrong way to express that answer. Ultimately, by learning to communicate opinions effectively and supported by reasonable evidence, students will be better prepared to support their own opinions in the real world. This is the mindset I carry into each tutoring session, and I encourage my students to fall back on this idea when the immediate assignment is not inspiring or feels pointless.