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Susan M.
Private tutor in Berkeley, CA
★★★★★ (1 review)
Education
UC Berkeley, PhD, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 2004 Yale University, BA, English literature, 1985 I majored in English literature because at Yale, the English department was one of the best in the world, and I was fascinated with the way that analysis of English literature encompassed philosophy and art. Since high school, though, biology was one of my favorite subjects, and I ended up going back to school to earn my PhD in it.
Experience
I'm a biology, biochemistry, and English tutor and also teach harp, piano, and violin. I have tutored students of ages from elementary school to college. I'm still amazed at how effective one-on-one tutoring can be. One high school biology student that I tutored went from getting a "D" on a test to scoring 94% on his next test after only a few weeks of tutoring. My approach is to have a dialog with the student instead of just lecturing, and I ask many questions to find out exactly where trouble in understanding occurs, and then focus on those points. After discussing a topic, I have the student explain it back to me or solve a problem on their own to check their understanding. I just love it when the light bulb goes on and a student suddenly understands a concept and says, "Oh!" My PhD is in biology from UC Berkeley and I have worked as a staff scientist at UCSF for several years after getting my PhD in biochemistry and molecular biology. I was awarded a PhRMA fellowship for my postdoctoral research on using bioinformatics approaches to studying and comparing proteases from parasites and humans. Regarding writing and English tutoring experience, I have professionally writing experience when I worked as a public information specialist. In addition, I tutored college and high school students in English and writing for a year at a tutoring center at California State University for an academic year and also for a summer at their intensive college preparatory program for high school seniors. I really enjoy working with students and have been told I am patient and have an excellent and clear way of explaining things. When I was in school, students often came to me on their own for help because I am very friendly, am very effective at helping others learn, and am always respectful because I realize that students are trying hard to increase their understanding of something.
Subject Expertise
AP Biology, Biochemistry, Biology, English, General Biology, Piano, Ukulele, Violin, Writing