The Tutor.com Blog

Each month our team of mentors nominates a “Tutor.com Tutor of the Month”. We are pleased to introduce this month’s Tutor of the Month, Rebecca F!

After relocating to a new state Rebecca F. decided to stay at home full-time with her three kids. However, she missed the daily student- teacher relationships she had back in Wisconsin. As a high school biology teacher for 14 years she grew used to the constant demands of being a teacher, but the shift to stay-at-home mom brought new opportunities. That’s when a colleague referred her to Tutor.com. The chance to maintain a flexible schedule initially drew her in, but her dedication to staying connected to the classroom and helping students with biology is why she is May’s Tutor.com Tutor of the Month.

Tell us a little bit about yourself:

I currently live in Iowa, after moving from Wisconsin last year. I have been tutoring with Tutor.com since October of 2011, and am approved to tutor Biology and Elementary Science. I graduated from Marquette University in Education with a minor in Psychology back in 1997. Then I was able to finish my Masters degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Carroll University in 2002. For the past 14 years I was a high school science teacher in Greendale, WI where I taught Honors Biology, Biological Processes, Biology, and Physical Science. I also taught pre-service science teachers a science ethodology class at Alverno College. Last year my husband landed a new job in Iowa, and with the move I decided to stay home full time with my three kids.

How did you find out about Tutor.com?

One of my colleagues who knew about my career change mentioned Tutor.com to me and its flexibility in scheduling and thought that it may be something I might want to pursue part-time while staying at home with my children. I have always had an interest in online teaching and learning, and I value its benefits, so this opportunity was appealing to me.

What is your favorite part of tutoring with Tutor.com?

I miss the relationships I had with my students while teaching full-time, so I really enjoy when a student and I “connect;” when we both are excited about what we are learning together, and sometimes share a quick story or joke that relates to the discussion at hand.

I get the chance to work with lots of great students, and they always have new and challenging biology or science questions that keep me fresh and involved with science related topics. I also appreciate the flexibility I have to change my schedule week to week so I never have to miss one of my own children’s activities and events.

What is one piece of advice you think all students should know?

Students are their own best advocates in what they need to be successful in school. Nothing makes a bigger difference than when the student approaches me with a question or admits some content is confusing and difficult. That is when I know I need to re-teach a topic in new way or find other strategies to help that student figure the material out.

What do you like to do for fun?

For fun I enjoy spending time with my family. This summer we are taking a family trip Out West (Mt. Rushmore, Yellowstone, Jackson Hole, WY, and various places in Colorado). I also like to scrapbook, read, bike, spend time outdoors, volunteering at my boys’ school, and have recently become involved with various “mom” groups in the city I live in to create great learning experiences for my youngest daughter who stays at home with me while my two older boys are in school. I have also picked up running, and my goal by this fall is to run 10 miles as part of a team in the Fall 50 Race in Door County, WI along with my husband, who is going to attempt to run the entire 50 miles on his own!!

Each month our team of mentors nominates a “Tutor.com Tutor of the Month”. We are pleased to introduce this month’s Tutor of the Month, Hope W!

From Idaho to South Carolina, from kayaking to hockey, from Algebra to Biology, Hope W. leads a very busy life. Yet her motto is to keep it simple. Whether that means breaking down an algebra problem by drawing out each individual angle, or making a connection between a math problem and real life, Hope knows that students do their best when they understand the problem step by step. This teaching style combined with her stellar student reviews, are why Hope W. is this month’s Tutor.com Tutor of the Month.

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I graduated from Brigham Young University with a B.S. in Integrative Biology. I am currently looking to get my Master’s degree in Marine Biology. I tutor students privately a few hours a week, and I am a supervisor at a county beach park here in Charleston, SC. I really enjoy kayaking, boating, and going to the beach. Before I moved to Charleston, I enjoyed playing hockey on a Women’s Team in Utah. I have been tutoring with Tutor.com for two years, and I am currently approved to tutor Algebra, Algebra II, Biology, Elementary Math, Mid Level Math, and Math en Español.

What is your favorite part of tutoring at Tutor.com?

My favorite part about tutoring is helping students find the right answer, without giving it away. A lot of students already know how to get the answer; they just don’t realize it and need a little bit of guidance. I like tutoring with Tutor.com because it’s a good way to earn some extra money, and I tutor as little or as much as I need to with my busy schedule.

How did you hear about us?

I found about Tutor.com from my sister, who is currently a tutor

What is some advice you have for students?

I’d tell students that to better understand the material they are learning in school they need to make connections  to real life.

What’s your favorite book?

Of the books that I have read recently, I really enjoyed The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks because it’s an interesting mix on ethics, biography and the history of cell research. (Check out our Tutor.com Reads Book Club Review of Henrietta Lacks here!)

What’s  your favorite movie?

One of my favorite movies is Rookie of the Year. I love it because it makes me laugh every time I watch it.

What is your best homework tip for current students?

My best homework tip is pretend like the questions on the homework are questions on a test. That way you are more motivated to work through the problems.

Each month our team of mentors nominates a “Tutor.com Tutor of the Month”. We are pleased to introduce the newest Tutor of the Month, Robert S!

As the Mathematics Program Director at a small college in Wisconsin, Robert S.’s schedule is constantly changing. However, with his Bachelor’s in Math-Secondary Education and his Master’s in Math-Secondary Curriculum and Instruction, Robert still wanted to incorporate time to work directly with students. That’s where Tutor.com came in. With the flexibility to change his schedule from week to week, Robert is able to maintain his busy full-time schedule in Wisconsin and incorporate his love of teaching.

Tutor.com: What is your favorite part of tutoring?

Robert: My favorite part of tutoring is having the ability to help students. It is a great feeling when a student is able to master a concept that he/she did not understand.

Why do you enjoy tutoring with Tutor.com?

I enjoy working with students, and I appreciate the flexibility that working with Tutor.com allows. My full-time work schedule varies greatly week to week, and I appreciate that I can schedule Tutor.com hours to complement my busy schedule.

How did you hear about Tutor.com?

I heard about Tutor.com from a student who had used it and an internet article about the growing field of online tutors.

What is the best advice you would offer a student today?

Students should strive to become a little bit better each day. If a student becomes just a little better each day, the progress made after a few weeks can be amazing. Don’t be afraid to ask questions or to be wrong. We all make mistakes and those are part of our learning process.

What are some of your favorite activities outside of work?

I enjoy sports. I don’t get to play as often as I would like to with time limitations, but I enjoy football, basketball, tennis, and running.

This month, we asked our tutors to again nominate a mentor of the month. Guiding our tutors and providing them feedback, our mentors are an integral part in maintaining our high tutoring standards. We are pleased to introduce this month’s Mentor of the Month, Sarah O!

Both a Tutor.com tutor and mentor, Sarah O. has been working double duty with Tutor.com for 5 years. Her expertise in English and Writing have set a high standard for the group of tutors she oversees, but her encouragement and warm personality make them eager to meet their goals. We are so glad to have Sarah on our team, and are very excited to be known as her “magic job!” Find out more about Sarah and her experiences below.

Tutor.com: Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Sarah: I live in Wisconsin with my husband and three kids, ages 7, 5, and 2. We are currently expecting baby girl #4, so things are about to get a whole lot more interesting around here! I’ve been working as a tutor in English and Essay Writing with Tutor.com for over 6 years, and I’ve been a mentor for 5 years.

What led you to become a tutor?

While I was pursuing my degree in English at The University of Wisconsin Madison, I took a year off and volunteered with AmeriCorps NCCC, a national service program. During that time, I decided that any work I would do in the future would have to be meaningful and beneficial to the world somehow. I worked with an affordable housing facility for women for awhile, but I eventually found my niche tutoring/mentoring with Tutor.com because I could utilize my passion for English and Literature while fulfilling my need to help others.  I believe that interactions we tutors have with students are truly making a difference in their lives. And that, above all else, is what has kept me coming back to Tutor.com year after year.

What is your favorite part of tutoring with Tutor.com?

Like many tutors, I have found that Tutor.com has provided me with a way to balance work and home life in a way that allows me to be home with the kids but engage in the outside world as well. Sometimes I call tutoring my “magic job” — I get to go to work in my pajamas, at whatever time works for me, and do something I love!

You are also a mentor for Tutor.com, helping to advise fellow tutors, what has that been like?

Mentoring has been a wonderful experience — I have a very skilled team of tutors, and my own tutoring has improved so much because I’ve had a chance to see how other tutors approach challenging sessions.

What do you like to do for fun?

Outside of tutoring, I spend a lot of time with my kids (of course), but I’m always working to keep my own identity disentangled from theirs. Writing and yoga have become invaluable outlets for my own creativity, and some day, when there is a bit less chaos around here, I hope to write a novel. I also love working for a local organic vegetable farm, selling for them at the farmer’s market and taking home a bounty of beautiful (free!) produce — that’s my other “magic job”!

Once a month our team of mentors nominates a ‘Tutor of the Month’, but every so often we turn the tables on them and ask our tutors to nominate a mentor of the month. Guiding our tutors and providing them feedback, our mentors are an integral part in maintaining our high tutoring standards. This month, we are pleased to introduce our Mentor of the Month, Tonya A!

Just last year we celebrated our 10^th anniversary partnering with libraries. It was an exciting milestone to hit and also a great opportunity to take a look at all of those who have worked with us along the way. This month’s mentor of the month has been with us a little over ten years now. She has seen Tutor.com grow, expand and venture into new markets and opportunities, all while working directly with our students and tutors. With her degrees in English and Education, we are so glad to have Tonya on our team helping us to be the #1 online homework help and tutoring service.

Tutor.com: Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Tonya: I live in Pennsylvania with my wonderful husband of nearly ten years. In college, I studied English at DeSales University and Elementary Education at Kutztown University. I have been with Tutor.com for slightly over ten years now and honestly, it is the best career opportunity I’ve ever had the pleasure of having.

What has it been like to work with Tutor.com for such a long period of time?

A decade ago, I started tutoring in the English, English essay and social studies areas and my work gave me the chance to see Tutor.com develop and grow into the marvelous service for students it is today. Eventually, I was given the opportunity to become a mentor and later, a senior mentor. I absolutely love having the opportunity to not only work with students, but also with a fantastic group of professionals on my team. I learn a lot from both of the roles I have at Tutor.com.

What is your favorite part of tutoring with Tutor.com?

I feel so fortunate being able to work from home, enjoy a flexible schedule, and most importantly, being able to do what I truly love. I firmly believe we never stop learning. Education and technology are two disciplines I enjoy and my work with Tutor.com merges those two elements.

What lead you to become a tutor?

In the past, I have worked as a traditional classroom teacher and also a tutor, which was work I started in my college’s learning center as an undergraduate studying for my English degree. In my undergraduate years, I thought my passion for writing would lead me toward a career in journalism, but through my tutoring experiences at college, I found that I loved working with students and found it even more rewarding to be able to work with them on improving their academic skills.

What is your favorite part of tutoring?

Even though I have been working with Tutor.com for over a decade, I still get inspired from those “a-ha!” moments I see our students get in the online classroom. Feeling that I have made a positive difference to a student and have helped them increase their confidence and hopefully incited a love for learning through working with them is reason why I remain enthusiastic about what I have the privilege to do in the online classroom!

Each month our team of mentors nominates a “Tutor.com Tutor of the Month”. We are pleased to introduce the August Tutor of the Month, Daniel B!

From interests in physics and earth science to astronomy and astrophotography, Daniel is a science buff. And after joining the Tutor.com team in March of last year he has been able to share his knowledge with students logging on needing help in the sciences. With many education discussions focusing on the importance of STEM in today’s schools, we are proud to be working with Daniel who not only understands the importance of those fields, but excels at them on his own.

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I am a full time physics student. I began to tutor in March of this year, after one of my friends who studies with me told me about Tutor.com. My subjects are physics and earth science.

What is your favorite part of tutoring?

When I realize that the student just understood the problem and knows how to get the answer.

Do you think a 1-to-1 connection is important to learning?

Yes, it is very important because it allows the tutor to take the pulse of learning and gives the student the confidence to ask and solve his concerns.

Why do you tutor with Tutor.com? What makes you stay?

The freedom. I love knowing that I can choose the time that I can dedicate to tutoring. It adapts to my activities and lets me relax when I work and enjoy the sessions I give.

What’s one thing you think every student should do in order to become a better student?

As for the Physics problems two things are important: physics and mathematics, as you have to deal with both. Physics is solved by writing the equations in the right way according to the problem; for this subject it is always useful to draw the problem. Then the math part comes in to solve equations and find the answers. To write the equations adequately requires a strong comprehension of the physics concepts implied; one acquires this comprehension by studying. To solve equations to find the answer requires experience with math, and one can only gain experience by practicing. So study and practice.

What’s your best homework or study tip?

To understand a concept an example is always useful. I read all of the examples that I can and sometimes I look for more than the ones in the text book.

What’s your favorite book? Movie?

I have many favorite movies but my favorite book will always be “The Little Prince”.

What do you like to do for fun?

I enjoy astronomy a lot! I enjoy observing through the telescope. I’m really a beginner but I am planning to venture into astrophotography soon.

At around 3:30pm ET September 15th, we reached our 7 millionth session mark! While we recapped the mobile session in an earlier post, we also wanted to catch up with Karen D., the tutor who holds the honor of having conducted that mammoth milestone session.

Tell us a little about yourself.

My name is Karen D. and I live in College Station, TX. I have a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Mathematics Education from Brigham Young University. I currently home school my kids and tutor with Tutor.com.

How did you find out about Tutor.com?

I found out about Tutor.com from a friend who told me she had been tutoring for a few months. I started in October 2008, so I have been tutoring now for almost 3 years. I tutor Algebra, Algebra II, Geometry and Calculus.

What is your favorite part of tutoring?

My favorite part of tutoring is when a student is really struggling and I manage to show them something that makes it all click into place and they get super excited. One of the more fun things that has happened from my tutoring with Tutor.com is that my kids have asked me to teach them some of the things I teach people on the computer. I love that they are learning an enthusiasm for math from my work!

Do you think a 1-to-1 connection is important to learning?

I think a 1-to-1 connection in learning makes a big difference in helping students. The ability to provide individualized assessment of strengths and weaknesses and tailor the learning approach accordingly is what makes tutoring so successful.

Why do you tutor with Tutor.com? What makes you stay?

I am a Tutor.com tutor because it is so flexible! I also love that I can do it at odd hours, like late at night or for a few minutes at lunch. I appreciate that it pays pretty well when you factor in lack of other expenses as well.

What’s one thing you think every student should do in order to become a better student?

If every student learned how to work neatly through longer math problems, they’d make fewer mistakes.

What’s your best homework or study tip?

My best homework/study tip is to draw a picture! If you can draw a picture of what is going on, you can often figure out how to answer the problem!

Each month our team of mentors nominates a “Tutor.com Tutor of the Month”. We are pleased to introduce June’s Tutor of the Month, Andranik A!

In addition to tutoring with Tutor.com, Andranik is also one of our very own success stories. First hearing about our service when he was in high school, Andranik sought help from us for clarification in some of his science classes. After high school, he went on to graduate from the University of California Irvine in June 2010, with degrees in Neurobiology and Psychology (Cognitive Science). Andranik is currently working as a full-time staff research associate for the Alzheimer’s disease laboratory and applying to medical school. His knowledge of chemistry, biology, and algebra are helping to educate a new generation at Tutor.com

How did you find out about Tutor.com?

I actually saw a flyer for Tutor.com (offered by my local library) posted in a hallway bulletin board of my high school and decided to give it a shot. Back then I wanted clarification on some chemistry concepts and the tutors did a great job explaining them to me. So much so that I excelled in college general and organic chemistry and decided to become a tutor myself.

What is your favorite part of tutoring?

I just like the feeling of knowing that somewhere out there, an anonymous person just figured something out and it hopefully stuck with them. Being helped myself before I joined, I appreciated how the knowledgeable tutors were able to clarify concepts for me so I’m glad to be giving back in my own way.

What’s one thing you think every student should do in order to become a better student?

It’s tough to say one thing that will make someone a better student but if I had to, I would remind students to constantly keep their mind on the long term goals they have. Think about how much your future self will thank you for doing all the right things to make the rest of your life easier on yourself with what you do in the present.

Do you have any funny or touching Tutor.com stories?

I had one student who recognized me by my first name and actually thanked me personally for helping her out with all the questions she had been asking. She also mentioned that after she got introduced to the site, her grades have been getting better. That was enough to make my day, if not week.

Interested in becoming a tutor? Apply now!

Each year, we survey our tutors to find out how we’re doing.  Do tutors have the right resources?  Are the online classroom tools helping make sessions effective and efficient?   What else can Tutor.com do to support the folks who will deliver 1.1 million online tutoring and homework help sessions this year alone?

Well the results are in!  Approximately 77% of our 2,000+ tutors participated and more than 95% report they are satisfied or very satisfied with their experience at Tutor.com.   Tutors answered questions regarding the support, resources and software provided by Tutor.com. They are overwhelmingly satisfied in the areas described below:

• 93.1% with provided resources
• 94.0% with the feedback provided by their Tutor Mentor
• 94.9% with the level of communication from Tutor.com
• 90.6% with the online classroom software
• 93.5% with their interactions with Tutor Support
• 93.2% with the students’ overall educational experience

 Online tutoring is an ideal position for men and women who require flexibility and a remote work environment.    Tutors can work from anywhere and choose their own hours. Approximately 10% of the tutors are affiliated with the military in some way, most often as a spouse or retiree.  Military families move often and Tutor.com allows a spouse stationed in San Antonio, Texas to keep tutoring when she is  re-located to Ramstein, Germany.   Flexibility is also key for teachers and professionals on leave to care for young children, or current teachers who tutor in the evening hours.

If you’d like to become an online tutor in physics, chemistry, calculus or statistics, please visit www.tutor.com/apply.

Each month our team of mentors nominates a “Tutor.com Tutor of the Month.” Meet Regan B. from Lubbock, TX. Regan is  a work-at-home mom and has been an online statistics and calculus tutor since November 2005 and a Tutor.com mentor since September 2008. Regan has a Masters in Mathematics and also majored in Math Education.

We are happy to share this interview, so you can “meet” her.

What brought you to Tutor.com?  How long have you been here?

I came to Tutor.com over five years ago. I joined this company just after the birth of my first child. I quit my job and took a break from my Master’s degree to stay at home with my son, but still wanted to get a mathematics fix every once in a while.

What made you stay with Tutor.com?

The flexible schedule of Tutor.com allowed me to work while learning to care for a baby and also paid for groceries while my husband finished grad school. I’ve been able to stay with Tutor.com through the completion of an MA in Math Education, the birth of two more children and a move across the country.

What is the most rewarding part of tutoring?

I enjoy working with students at Tutor.com. I think the anonymity of technology allows students to lose some of their inhibitions about asking for help and allows me as a tutor to work with them until they really understand rather than just pretend to understand since everyone else in the class seems to get it.

What do you do for fun?

Outside of Tutor.com I love to go hiking, play games with my three children and just get outside as much as possible. I try to grow things in my garden, read whenever I can, and I start a new exercise program about every three months. Zumba is the most recent. We’ll see if it sticks!

Are you interested in tutoring for Tutor.com? Check out some of the great benefits of tutoring, and apply today! You can also meet more of our tutors.