CHEMISTRY TUTORING

CONTACT ADRIAN FOR CHEMISTRY HELP

“I learned a lot from your teaching. When I first started, I was so lost in the course, but with your guidance, I was able to improve so much more than what I thought I initially could. Thanks again.”

Every individual student will have a unique chemistry tutoring need. There is no substitute for talking with me about your specific situation, so please contact me to schedule a no obligation chat.

“I wanted to let you know that J received an A in AP chemistry. Thank you for all of your help!”

As you consider the exact detail of your own wants and needs, it might be useful to think about some of the more general, tutoring FAQs below.

“I just wanted to thank you for all of your help with my IB Chem class this year. I thought the exam was pretty difficult, but the things that we talked about were definitely on the exam, so it wasn’t that bad. But I honestly wouldn’t have done well without your help and patience. Thank you so much for everything, and I wish you well.”

“I got a 5 on AP chemistry and a 770 on the subject test. Thank you so much for all your help this year. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

Vivien in Connecticut

“We would like to thank you for helping our son develop proficiency in AP Chemistry, and especially in developing critical thinking skills in this subject. For a sophomore student he has come a long way in understanding complex areas of the subject, and your teaching helped him substantially.”

‘R’ in New Jersey

CONTACT ADRIAN FOR CHEMISTRY HELP

FAQs

Why should I consider one-on-one chemistry tutoring?

Many students find that chemistry is a challenging subject for a variety of reasons. Those reasons include the intellectual demands of the subject, difficulties with the mathematical aspects of chemistry, and problems associated with the instruction they are receiving (often related to other issues such as class size, teaching styles or other agendas). As a result, many students will fail to reach their full potential in the subject. Private chemistry tutoring will help the student reach that potential. This may be a question of simply getting them to pass a class in the subject, or helping them to become the ‘chemistry valedictorian’, or any point in between. The extra help that a student receives from private tutoring removes many of the obstacles that they may be experiencing at school, and the one-on-one attention and tailored sessions that they receive will likely be extremely beneficial in a variety of situations.

Should I consider a cheaper alternative to an experienced teacher for example, a graduate student?

Typically, otherwise capable graduate students with good subject knowledge, will lack three crucial qualities. Firstly they are likely to be very inexperienced teachers. Secondly they may have a very tenuous grasp of what is required of students in certain, specific situations, and as a result fail to pitch their instruction at the correct level. Thirdly, they lack the formal professional qualifications and training that an experienced teacher will possess. The combination of these shortcomings may result in tuition that is relatively ineffective.

How can I ensure that I get the most from tutoring?

The student must agree about the need for chemistry tutoring. It is highly unlikely that effective tuition will take place when the student is receiving tuition under duress. This can make for difficult and awkward circumstances that are not conducive to learning. A co-operative, and positive attitude is required for maximum benefit.

Also come prepared, which really means come with lots of questions. The more pro-active the student is, the more they will get from tutoring. Passively expecting knowledge to be simply imparted is not a very productive strategy! Without question, the most effective sessions are the ones where a student arrives with curiosity, i.e., brings their own desire for learning to the tutoring table. Of course, sometimes students aren’t quite sure what the right questions are, and when this is the case I will lead the conversation with my own prompts.

Where and when does tutoring take place?

Almost ALL of my tutoring is now conducted online, and this was the case long before the COVID situation (see below), however …

… if we are talking about local, face to face tutoring, then I prefer to conduct sessions in the students home if at all possible. A quiet place to work is essential. It is most comfortable for all parties if an adult be present at home when tutoring is taking place. If this is not possible, public places such as coffee shops, bookstores and libraries offer alternatives. The majority of my tutoring work takes place at the end of the school day and early evenings. Occasionally, weekend sessions are possible.

What if I don’t live close to you or it is difficult for me to meet face-to-face, can you provide online tutoring?

Absolutely, in fact this method of delivering instruction became increasingly popular with ALL students long before COVID, and even amongst those who were local to me prior to the pandemic.

Sessions are conducted remotely via Zoom, Skype, or Discord, where the tutee and I communicate via video and audio. By utilizing sharing features during the call we can see one another’s screens, including a whiteboard. Shared Google Docs and Google Drives allow for further communication. My students reside in every timezone in the USA, and internationally in several countries including Singapore, Hong Kong, China, India, and most of Europe. Please contact me for further details.

How do I book tutoring sessions?

Once we have established that we are a good fit for one another, have agreed terms and are ready to begin sessions, the student and fee payer (parent or guardian) will be be added to my “Friday email list”. The Friday email is sent every Friday throughout the school year. It asks each tutee to inform me by the following Sunday lunchtime of their tutoring wants and needs for the upcoming seven days that begin on the following Monday. I then build my schedule on Sunday afternoon, and an email confirming the meetings for the next seven days goes out on Sunday evening. We are then all set for the week, and the whole process repeats itself the next Friday.

How often do you meet tutees?

For the majority of the school year most tutees prefer to meet for one hour each week. However, this is entirely flexible and fewer sessions, more sessions or longer sessions can be arranged by agreement in relation to need. Closer to exam time it is more common for extra hours of tutoring to be arranged.

How do I follow progress?

Each student has a private folder on a Google Drive where the content of all meetings will be recorded, plus a record of payments, and where any other documents relating to our work will reside.

Do you recommend other materials?

In many cases, subscriptions to allow full and unlimited access to my teaching materials can prove to be an excellent addition to the work that I do with students. Although I will continue to provide materials as needed in each session, having 24/7 access to a larger pool of resources can be a huge boon for many students. In addition, I STRONGLY advise all of my AP students to purchase my AP Chemistry Crash Course book.

What do you charge?

My current fee for one hour of tutoring is calculated on a case by case basis. Rates start at US$95.00 per hour for typical middle school physical science tuition, and rise from there. In all cases the fee is payable prior to each session by PayPal, Venmo or Credit Card.

CONTACT ADRIAN FOR CHEMISTRY HELP

YOUR Chemistry Studies in 2023-24. Take Action. Take Charge

What happened?

Here’s the reality that families, and students have faced, and will continue to face in the near future. The 2019-20, 2020-21 & 2021-22 academic years were shrouded in chaos of various types due to the global pandemic. Going forward we are likely to be continuing to live with the effects of those interrupted academic years, with the chemistry education of literally millions of students having been disrupted. The only thing that is certain is that student’s chemistry education has suffered.

What can you do?

In two words, “seek help”. That help may be sought for many different reasons, and be in a number of different forms. Perhaps to simply keep a students’ head above water; maybe to maintain that stellar GPA, and to protect the precious path to college; perhaps to ensure that an AP Exam score ultimately reflects the true academic ability of the student; or simply to help fill the gaps in the preparation for tests at school. Whatever the reason, you can reach out for help and guidance.

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How does it work?

I can provide everything from simple, remote one-on-one tutoring, through to a much more comprehensive plan, including specific, tailor-made strategies, and materials. It should be noted that remote tutoring is NOT a new thing for me, hastily cobbled together to adapt to the current COVID circumstances, rather it has been my preferred method of operation for close to a decade. If you’re concerned and want to safeguard your chemistry education, then let’s start the conversation.