Colleen

algebra 1

Algebra I provides students with skills that will last a lifetime. It involves learning how to solve complex multiplication, division, addition, subtraction and other operations. It also introduces you to mathematical equations that involve variables (letters that stand for an unknown number). It also provides you with the basic rules of all of the operations. Once you learn the rules, you will have no problem solving most algebraic problems. It is my job to make Algebra I fun and enjoyable. I have succeeded in doing so for several students and I hope to continue doing so.

algebra 2

vocabulary

grammar

Microsoft Excel

Excel is a powerful tool! It is a data application in the Microsoft Platform. It makes it easy to crunch numbers and make graphs. It is a highly sophisticated program which will allow you to do something as simple as a budget sheet or something as complicated as a multiple regression. I have done both on Excel and many things in between. My ease with Excel comes from nearly 15 years of experience with it. I am sure I can help you with your Excel needs.

general computer

I have been working on computers (including a number of word processing and database packages) for 25 years. In today's society, computer knowledge is an imperative if one is to communicate, write letters (or other things), and manage data. I LOVE computers because you do just about anything with them. When I teach people to use the computer, I generally start by getting them comfortable with the idea that they control the computer and that the computer can only do what they tell it to do. With that, we then start by working with a word processing program such as Microsoft Word. I introduce them to messaging systems and the internet. That ends my "basic" introduction to computers. If you want more in-depth teaching, I can do that as well. If this sounds like what you are looking for, please contact me. Thanks!

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Word is a word processing package that enables one to create wonderful reports and letters.

Microsoft PowerPoint

prealgebra

Pre-algebra is a requisite for most of the other mathematics courses required in high school. It is where students can develop the needed skills to complete both algebra I and algebra II. I have helped an array of pre-algebra students develop the needed skill sets to get good grades in their classes as well as prepare for the ACT or SAT exams. Pre-algebra is about the relationship between numbers and the various ways they can be represented. I have developed special methods for modeling these relationships and helping my students actually "see" these relationships. I have found once students are shown the relationships, visually, they have a better understanding of what pre-algebra (and algebra) is all about and it makes it easier for them to engage in the mathematical manipulations required in pre-algebra.

reading

As an avid reader all my life, I feel everyone regardless of age should learn to read. Reading opens one's world up to new ideas, adventures, and possibilities. I read whatever I can get my hands on...fiction and non-fiction. Much of the problem students have with reading is that they do not like it. They simply find it boring. This has more to do with the quality of material they are reading. It is also largely related to the topics they usually read--mostly topics for school. I combat this dislike of reading by getting to know the student and choosing books on topics in which they are interested. I also show my students how reading can help them with every other area of their lives.

writing

geography

English

anatomy

I majored in Biological Sciences in undergraduate school. I have always found it fascinating how the human body fits together and even more intrigued in how it works. Biology is simply an understanding of body structure and function. It can be complicated but, with a good professor or tutor, students can learn both basic and advanced biology. Much of what I teach in Biology focuses on the concepts of cell biology, classical and molecular genetics, evolution, and microbiology. When working with new Biology students I begin with teaching them the scientific method and the chemical basis of life. Then I go on to the biology of cells and more in-depth chemistry of biological cells. Biology is a fascinating science that can be fun to learn; you just need the right basics. I can provide these basics and beyond.

economics

Microeconomics is a standard building block course for lots of graduate level work. During the course of my graduate work I took several microeconomic courses including: microeconomics, microeconomic theory, economic theory, mental health economics, and several other courses. Microeconomic theory is really about the balance between supply and demand in whatever market you are studying. It is actually a fun subject that teaches you a lot about how world markets work. To teach students microeconomics, I have traditionally used PowerPoint presentations and hands-on computer modeling techniques. I have also developed other methods of teaching my students the relationship between demand and supply and how each affects the other. I look forward to teaching students microeconomics!

GRE

Unlike when I took the GRE 10 years ago, the new GRE is composed of distinct sections - Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, and Analytical Writing - with clearer purposes. The Verbal Reasoning section evaluates a student's ability to analyze and synthesize concepts and word components. The Quantitative Reasoning section measures problem solving abilities in general arithmetic, geometry, and data analysis. Analytical Writing looks at critical thinking capabilities as well and analytical writing skills. Verbal Reasoning requires a wide vocabulary and the ability to relate concepts. It is relatively easy to do well on this section if one expands one's vocabulary, becomes familiar with root words, and increases one's ability to do these in a minimum of time. Quantitative Reasoning measures basic knowledge of arithmetic, geometry, and data analysis. One can do well if one knows the basics of these three types of analysis. It is not necessary to be able to do trigonometric functions; just know the basics and apply them. The Analytical Writing section is where many of my students have a problem. There are many types of questions asked in this section but, if the student, knows how to formulate a basic argument, he or she will do well. The new GRE is more focused than the old one but really only tests the basics and application of the basics. It is relatively easy to do well on this GRE if one studies for it in the right way. I can help students do just that. So if you will be taking the GRE, please consider me as a tutor.

GED

SAT reading

SAT Reading is about reading comprehension under a time limit. It typically has three or four types of reading passages and then asks about six or seven questions about what the student just read. I can help your student in reading comprehension and in increasing their speed at which they read and answer the questions. It really is simply a matter of finding a way to identify the key sections of the paragraphs and then going directly back to those key sections for the answers. I can help your student develop a method for doing this.

SAT writing

SAT writing can be a difficult part of the SAT for many students. I have found the problem, for most students, to be two-fold. First, they do not have a history of writing under time constraints. I fight this by asking them to write multiple essays on a variety of subjects and from various viewpoints throughout our tutoring relationship. Second, many students do not know how to write a brief essay. In school, we are taught to write papers three to five pages long but rarely are taught to write three to five paragraph essays. I can teach you to do this in a short amount of time. Please contact me if you need help with SAT writing.

GMAT

The GMAT consists of four sections - analytical writing assessment, integrated reasoning, quantitative and verbal. These are sections similar to other standardized tests-I specialize in helping students prepare for standardized tests. The GMAT, usually taken for MBA programs, requires the ability to reason out questions. The reasoning, quantitative and verbal questions can, for example, involve one drawing a picture that makes the question more visual and therefore more understandable. The analytical writing assessment is the section with which most of my students have needed assistance. I have excellent writing and analytical skills and can teach students that basics of writing analytically. The GMAT is very similar to other standardized tests and look for the same things - the ability to think ones way through a difficult problem.

PSAT

spelling

study skills

I received my doctorate from Brandeis University's Heller School for Social Welfare. I am well-versed in the art of study skills. I have general study skills as well as subject-specific skills. For example, I study differently for a qualitative course than I do for a quantitative course. I also have different activities for test preparation in each type of course. Most students have trouble with time management. I incorporate time management into my study skills. I do this to automate the study process and it has worked well for me throughout my educational career. Of course, I have had to make alterations throughout my educational career based on educational level, time availability (I worked two jobs both during my college and masters programs), and course load. I would love the opportunity to teach you study and time-management skills.

sign language

I first began taking sign language nearly 10 years ago at church. I wanted to be one of the signers for our deaf parishioners. I took two classes at that time that helped me understand and be able to hold basic and intermediate conversations in sign language. Five years ago, I picked another sign class at another church. The entire class was deaf and I could only communicate through sign language. It was daunting at first because most of the people in the class had been signing for several years. But, after a week or two, I was able to keep up with them and I began to sign as fast as they did. Unfortunately, it has been nearly six years since I have had the opportunity to have a conversation in sign language but I still have the skills.

SAS

I used SAS in my PhD graduate program. SAS is, in software terms, a bit dated. It began in the 1970s and has undergone numerous iterations since. It, like many software packages, has its own language and processes. For example, a SAS program has two basic steps: a data step and a processing step. The former provides, obviously the data to be acted upon; the latter, the specific analyses or functions through which the data is to be put. If you attempt to use one without the other, you get nowhere. In SAS, one must input know the specific syntax associated with data manipulation. This is unlike SPSS, a complementary but, in my view, easier, data analysis package that has a "point and click" feature that allows one to do an analysis without knowing the syntax. This is particularly important when working with large datasets. SAS, at one point was the predominant data analysis package in academia, business and government, but it has been supplanted by SPSS, ACCESS, Excel, and, more recently, R. What is very nice about SAS is that data can be imported from and exported to several other data analysis software including ACCESS, Excel, and SPSS. While I am very familiar with SAS, I am more familiar and comfortable with SPSS, ACCESS, and Excel.

career development

While in graduate school, I began preparing to seek employment upon graduation. I took several courses that taught me how to present myself in an interview, answer difficult interview questions, and ask pertinent questions. In addition, I have taken several resume preparation courses to continually improve my own resume. I have tutored dozens of persons in revamping their resumes and preparing for job interviews. In addition, I have tutored those same persons on the differences between a job and a career interview--something few people recognize as being different. My methods include: (1) showing students how to brush-up on the business or organization with which they will be interviewing; (2) interviewing them myself (on-camera); and (3) thinking through their experiences to present the best resume possible.

art history

I was required to take Art History in High school. I learned to love art and its history. My absolute favorite artist is Pieter Paul Rubens. I can recognize all the works of the great artists including, but not limited to: Rubens, Picasso, Manet, Monet, Latrec, Degas, Renoir, and Rembrandt. I also have favorite artists from various schools. These include, from the abstract expressionists, Jackson Pollock; Baroque artists such as Rembrandt; Cubists such as Picasso; a few from the school of Dadaism (Duchamp); and Classicists such as Poussin. My favorite type of art is Impressionism. I like a variety of impressionists including Cassat, Degas, Renoir, Monet and Manet, and Picasso. I am well versed in the art and history of art from the 1500s to present day.

biostatistics

I have considerable experience in statistics. Beyond college level statistics courses, I had biostatistics in my Master's program. I also had three different levels of statistics courses in my Ph.D. program. I did well in all of these courses (B's or A's). Biostatistics is simply the application of statistics to biology and health. Once you know statistics, the "bio" part is easy. It is a fascinating way to learn more about health, public health, and medicine. The numbers come alive when you actually apply the basic statistical techniques to real-life, everyday problems. Just imagine...you want to know the probability you will catch the flu even though you have followed all the "rules" for not catching it. The doctor cannot realistically tell you without knowing all the information you know about your health habits, etc. But you, without a medical degree, can estimate your chances of getting the flu. That is power!

computer programming

I learned computer programming in BASIC more than 25 years ago. While I have had two courses in C++, I cannot say I am adept at all types of programming in C++, I am well versed enough to be able to solve problems and teach others how to solve their syntax problems. I am more well-versed in BASIC and can program just about anything in BASIC. I have begun to learn SQL as well.

desktop publishing

Desktop Publishing is FUN. It allows you to creatively develop presentations, books, pamphlets, etc. It allows students and professionals, alike, to take a subject and give it pizazz. I have published a number of documents through the use of various computer programs, languages, and software packages. As a graduate student, you need to be creative as well as knowledgeable about a subject; it always helped me to create something special. In both school and work environments, I have used Publisher and PageMaker. I am familiar with many desktop publishing software.

econometrics

Econometrics is the use of mathematics and statistical methods applied to economic data. While in graduate school I took both econometrics and applied econometrics. During both courses, I conducted investigations of the economics of domestic violence. Using cross-sectional and then time-series data, I was able to determine how domestic violence influences a woman's economic capital. I used mostly Bayesian methods within econometrics to develop, design, conduct, and analyze this and other topics of interest. Econometrics can be fun if one is comfortable with regression analysis, which I am. Econometrics can answer many questions about seemingly non-economic topics. It is a subject best undertaken by a detail-oriented person who is patient and capable of understanding both microeconomics and statistics.

genetics

As a Biology major in college, I was able to take the available Genetics course. I explains so many things in such a simple way that nearly every characteristic of a person can be understood quickly and easily. In this genetics course, we studied Eugenics as well as more traditional genetics. I received a B+ in the course. I was fascinated by the development, structure, and function of genes and continue to be. We had these toolkits that contained something akin to tinker toys where we could build strands of DNA and experiment with what changes occurred in phenotype when genotypes were changed. It was quite fascinating! I hope to be able to pass on my LOVE of genetics to my students.

ISEE

The Independent School Entrance Exam (ISEE) tests student's (grade 2 through 12) reasoning in both math and English. I have tutored students preparing for entrance into the third, seventh, and eighth grades for the ISEE. Each did well and easily entered and did well in their respective grades. The ISEE has different tests for various grades but in general, it looks at both verbal and quantitative reasoning, essay writing skills, reading comprehension, and mathematics achievement. Scores are not determined in the same way as other standardized tests in that each school has their own idea of what a "good" score is but, in general, scores range from one to nine where 3 and below is considered below average, four to six, average, and 7 and above, above average. These scores simply give the schools an idea of where a student stands in his/her knowledge and ability to reason verbally and mathematically.

Macintosh

MacIntosh refers to use of Apple hardware such as the MacBook Pro. I, myself, have a MacIntosh product and have been using it for several years. I am proficient in all Office Products on the MacIntosh platform. These include: Access, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Word. Apple hardware also has proprietary software on it and I am familiar with those as well. To teach students about such products, I have them bring their laptops, tablets, or other Apple products and show them, physically, how to use them. I have taught students basic computing, Excel, R, and PowerPoint. The methods I have used have varied from creating PowerPoint presentations and then going through the presentation with the student to developing exercises that the student needs to complete in order to gain a certain level of understanding with the product. The exact method I use to teach computers and computer-related activities varies depending on the student, his or her needs, and their learning styles.

Microsoft Access

Accessis a relational database. This means data is stored in tables (or table form) and can be accessed in a variety of ways by a variety of database software. Its predecessors, Paradox and dBase (both of which I am familiar with) were prototypes for relational databases. Access can create tables, queries, forms and reports and link them together easily through the use of macros. Macros are simple programs that automate certain activities such as taking the mean of a large set of data, conducting a chi-square analysis, or eliminating missing data. Access works well with other database packages including Excel and the newest database package SQL (which I am currently learning). Access, unlike other packages, does not require a user to know certain syntax. It, like SPSS, for example, has a type of point and click usage that makes it easy for the non-programming user to conduct data analysis. Access, in general terms, can be learned in four to six two-hour lessons.

Microsoft Outlook

I learned Microsoft Outlook nearly two years ago while working at an agency that used it extensively. It is a very easy program to learn and is quite facile. The program makes it easy to manage e-mail and documents while maintaining one's own security. I am very comfortable with this program. I used it for two years and learned the ins and outs of it very well.

Microsoft Windows

I have been using Microsoft Word for at least 10 years. I have created documents, tables, charts, and animations in Microsoft Word. I have even done multiples of these in one document. I used Microsoft Word to write my dissertation as well as all the other papers I wrote in graduate school. I am extremely well-versed in Microsoft Word and can develop nearly every type of document one needs with Word. I have taught several people how to use word and am comfortable teaching others.

probability

I have considerable experience working with probability. Beyond college-level mathematics, I have had master's level mathematics and doctorate level mathematics including statistics, multivariate analysis, causal modeling, and canonical correlation. Probability is a basic concept for all of these more advanced statistical techniques. I did well in each of my classes (A's) and tutored other students in my classes who were having trouble grasping the concepts.

sociology

I was a sociology minor in college. As a college student, I took a number of sociology courses including, but not limited to: criminology, American Sociological Thought, Sociological Theories and others. I studied the writings of Durkheim and Marx. I began my studies of sociology with the reading of Erewhon which shows what happens when the value of a society changes and its laws protect that new value and abhors behaviors contrary to that value. I also took courses on social inequality, determining social value, and an introduction to social capital. Had I discovered sociology earlier in my college career, I would have been a double major--biological sciences and sociology.

ACT Reading

The ACT reading section can be quite difficult for a lot of students; primarily because it requires you read passages relating to a variety of subjects, some of which are of no interest to students. The key is to get around the interest part and focus on the reading essentials. This means working on how students approach reading; how they process what they read; and how they report what has been read. The ACT reading section can be conquered! That is the good news. The "bad" news--is really good news: it takes work! This means, the more you practice, the better you will be and the higher score you will achieve!

ACT English

The ACT test, like most standardized tests, is not really a test about your depth of knowledge but about your application of basic knowledge in a limited time period. The ACT English test is about being able to read and understand written passages about various topics, vocabulary, and how to put one's thoughts together to address various topics. Typically, there will be one to three different types of writing assignments: argumentative, expository, or descriptive. I have tutored many students and all have either improved their scores or received good first scores.

ACT Math

The ACT Math section, like most math standardized test sections, is not really about your knowledge depth but really about how quickly you can apply the basics. There are shortcuts, tips, and shorthand that can be used to quickly get correct answers. Once you are taught these shortcuts, tips, and shorthand the math standardized test (whether ACT, GRE, or SAT) will not appear as onerous to you. I work hard to teach not only content but test-taking techniques to give my students the best chance of doing well on the ACT math section.

ACT Science

The ACT science section can be a real stickler for many students. Not so much because they do not know the material but because they have a difficult time retrieving the information in their heads during the limited time provided on the ACT. The first thing to remember is: the ACT science section is less about content than it is about how you process information. This means you do not have to have in-depth knowledge of Biology or Chemistry, or Geology or any other science. You simply have to be able to read, pull out key facts, and recognize those facts in the answer choices provided. This is where I come in! I help the student focus on reading, understanding, processing, and relating the information they read. This makes the science section of the ACT less tricky and even fun to take.