About Carter Tutoring
Background and Teaching Methods
Four Years of Tutoring Experience
I started offering math tutoring in high school after scoring an A in every math class, including honors and AP sections. The skills I learned gave me a strong foundation to use when helping my classmates improve their own problem-solving skills.
I began preparing students for the SAT after I scored a 1570 with a perfect 800 on math, putting me in the top 0.1% of test takers. Since then, I've helped students improve their speed and accuracy enough to boost their scores from 890 to 1270 or even 1530 to a perfect 1600 in some cases.
After receiving the top score out of 200 students in BU's Intro to Finance course, I was recommended for a teaching assistant position by the head of the Finance Department. Since then, I've taught several finance sections totaling over 100 students and tutored in intro and corporate finance for many more.
Teaching Methods
I draw a lot of inspiration for my teaching methods from the times when I needed tutoring myself. For example, I was having trouble with Algebra 2 Honors because the way my teacher explained the material didn't match how I learned new concepts.
When I asked for help outside of class, my tutor would often talk about concepts that I hadn't seen yet. From those experiences, I learned two important things:
1. Everyone has a different learning style, and finding a tutor with a compatible teaching style is essential
I've worked with many students over the past four years, and while my teaching style works very well with most of them, I've given first lessons where I can tell that the way I teach doesn't match well with the way they learn. In those cases, I let the student know that they would likely be better off with another tutor.
The students that do match my teaching style, however, consistently see impactful positive changes in their speed, accuracy, and understanding of the material.
2. Many students have gaps in their knowledge that keep them from understanding new concepts, but can be easily fixed
For example, a lot of my students are taking Algebra 1, Algebra 2, and Geometry. One concept used all the time in those classes is adjusting both sides of an equation, which lets you easily solve questions like x + 3 = 7 or 5x + 4 = 7x - 6. However, even some of my Geometry and Precalculus students aren't fully comfortable with a concept that's normally taught years before at the start of Algebra 1.
When I encounter gaps like those, I make sure not only to explain how the concept works but also how it connects to their current class and coursework. By doing so, I've seen my students not only get more comfortable with the material but actually start to enjoy doing the problems that they once dreaded.