Kate Holland a.
Private tutor in Charlotte, NC
Education
Hollins University, B.A. in Clinical Psychology, May 2000 Radford University, M.A. in Experimental Psychology, December 2002 Virginia Tech, Ph.D. in Biological and Development Psychology, May 2008
Experience
Courses I teach on a regular basis: Introduction to Psychology Research Methods Research Methods Laboratory Psychological Statistics Business Statistics Cognitive Psychology Physiological Psychology Survey of Learning and Memory • I have taught Algebra I and Geometry to Upward bound students (usually composed of students who are the first in their generation to attend college) at Virginia Tech. • I was a private tutor when I was getting my master’s degree at Radford University. I also routinely tutor students one-on-one for statistics and other research oriented classes. • I was awarded the Kendra Olgetree Cusaac Excellence in Teaching Award in April of 2015. I was a John J. Duffy Teaching Award nominee in 2013.
Availability
Any day in the afternoon
Can Meet
Up to 25 minutes away for no additional charge
Hobbies
My love of teaching and tutoring comes from a love of learning and working with students at all levels. I strive to instill in students a solid understanding of the material that will aid them in later courses and will also enhance their analytical thinking skills. While learning new material is clearly the main goal of wanting the aid of a tutor, there are also other important factors to take into account: Because my Ph.D. is in psychology, I am always taking into account how students learn new material. For example, some students learn visually and benefit from seeing a diagram, while others learn best by hearing information and repeating it themselves. I find tutoring students one-on-one to be especially rewarding because I can focus all of my attention on them. Below is a comment from a colleague who sat in on one of my classes: “Dr. H meets her students where they are and thus is a very effective instructor. Her approach to teaching appears to be very “hands on.” She appears to be committed to varying her teaching approach as needed to best meet the needs of her students.” Here is student comment regarding how I take into account how each student learns: “I really liked how Dr. H drew out examples on the board, it really helped me understand the information by seeing it step by step.” It is rewarding to foster a love of learning and an understanding of the material in the students I teach. My goal is to be approachable to my students so they feel they are in an environment where they feel free to ask questions. Asking questions is part of the interactive process of learning, and the students who are the most successful in class are the ones that interact with teachers and those around them. Below are examples of student comments regarding my teaching approach and personal characteristics: “Teacher is extremely willing to help us understand assignments and class materials.” “I really enjoyed this class! When I was out due to surgery, the teacher helped me get caught back up on missed work. I feel that this class has taught me a lot and helped me further my education!” “I truly enjoyed this class. Dr. H was a great professor who definitely knew the information. I learned a lot and feel that I greatly benefitted from taking this class.” A big part of tutoring is not only determining how a student learns, but also taking into account their motivation level. Students who are reinforced for learning new material are much more successful than those who are punished for failing to do so. I take this into account when interacting with a student. I also come from the perspective that learning should be a natural process. A little more about me: I grew up in Virginia and attended a small, private school. Education was always important to my parents and to myself. For certain topics, however, learning did not come easily to me. At the age of 12, I was getting a very poor grade in science. My mother was the best tutor I could have hoped for. She sat down with me and first let me know that I was smart enough to learn the material. She then asked me questions regarding how I thought about science concepts. After that, she taught me how to go through the chapter sentence by sentence and explain the concepts to her. She was patient, and made me feel at ease with the material. I ended up getting an “A” in the class. What do I do for a living now (besides teach)? Science! Because I know that having an effective tutor can literally change your life (like my mother’s tutoring changed mine in that it fostered a newfound love for science), I hold myself to a very high standard. For that reason, I will often ask for feedback. If my approach to learning is congruent with what you need, then I look forward to helping you or your child achieve success!
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