Personal Description:

Rachel is a graduate of University of Massachusetts where she received her Bachelor’s in English. Adding on to her Associate’s in Education, she is now enrolled in her master’s Program in Education. She plans to put her passion and education into a career of teaching English and Language Arts. Tutoring off and on since 2011, she first took a job with a private tutoring agency to tutor ESL students in preparation for the English, grammar, and writing portions of standardized testing. More recently, she has been with UML’s Writing Center working as a professional tutor. She loves the challenges and self-expression that writing can provide and is excited to team up with you.

Tutoring Experience:

- Professional Writing Tutor | University | MA | Fall 2019- Present

- Lead Pre-K Teacher | Preschool | NH | Spring 2017 - Present

- Long Term Substitute Teacher | Elementary School | MA | Spring June 2019

- Teaching Intern | Middle School | MA | Winter- Spring 2019

- Substitute Teacher | High School | MA | Fall 2015 - Winter 2018

- Private Tutor | MA | Fall 2011 - Fall 2015

Additional training: Upper-Level University Course on the Pedagogy and Theory of Tutoring, Level 1 Training for Tutors at UML, and open discussion and exchange of ideas with other tutors and professionals in the field.

Tutoring Approach:

- I lean towards an adaptive method that uses multiple tactics (both passive/active and minimalist/authoritative) to best help the individual.
- I believe a writing tutor should aim to improve the writer, not just the writing.
- I want to provide a space for writers to bounce ideas around, reflect on their writing, and find areas they can improve.
- I like to tackle the ideas and structure (big picture) before worrying about grammar and sentence structure (small picture).
- I like to provide an opportunity for my writers to explain their ideas. This helps them structure them in their head and sometimes leads them to clarify their own writing.
- I have come up with a balance between having my writers being the active agent improving their writing and personally modeling strategies that will help them now and in the future.