Algebra 1 and Algebra 2 tutor

About Robert

I’m Rob, an easygoing and friendly but effective tutor serving the Sacramento area and beyond. I tutor a number of subjects including English, math, German, philosophy, and SAT/ACT. What really makes tutoring worthwhile for me is taking a vested interest in students’ success!

I began tutoring 8 years ago in 2011 as a senior double major at Azusa Pacific University (APU; 3.86 GPA, magna cum laude; Outstanding Senior Award in Philosophy). As an undergraduate, I worked in APU’s Tutoring Center and tutored mainly philosophy and writing, but some college algebra (never received lower than an A in college math classes, including calculus). I have been tutoring in one capacity or another since then. In my PhD program at Baylor University (3.87 GPA; 93+ percentile in writing and verbal sections of GRE), where I also received a master’s degree in analytic philosophy, I have worked as a teaching and research assistant. I gained plenty of teaching/tutoring experience while serving as an auxiliary instructor, teaching several independent honor’s colloquia, and offering writing assistance both independently and through group writing workshops. My own writing has resulted in presentations at many academic conferences as well as several peer-reviewed journal publications.

In 2017 I took an extended sabbatical from my PhD program and turned to tutoring full time. (I have since returned to part-time doctoral work in philosophy through Baylor U. with an intended completion date of 2022.) Since then, I have tutored a variety of ages in a variety of subjects, including math, English, German, study skills, and SAT/ACT test prep, both in person as well as online through tutoring platforms like Varsity Tutors. As of late, I have focused on test prep, but I enjoy tutoring other subjects as well! Besides working with students 1-on-1, I've also taught after-school SAT classes at local high schools, most recently for the Sacramento Criminal Justice Academy.

My approach to SAT/ACT (often modified to meet the unique needs of students) is based on a tried-and-true study program carefully developed over the course of nearly 15 years by a small group of successful tutors operating out of Roseville, CA. The program includes a comprehensive curriculum formulated to match actual problems showing up on officially administered tests, as well as an optional homework schedule, bundle of practice tests (16 for SAT, and 17 for the ACT), strategy review document, and more. For our first session, I’ll generally breakdown the strategies test section by test section, modeling for you what these look like on a real practice test. Students will, for example, get to see what a good reading pace looks like given the time constraints on the Reading sections or what sort of things they need to text-mark in narrative vs. academic passages. Next, we’ll focus on learning the content of the tests. I help students master our Grammar and Math Reference materials, which function like study guides for an upcoming school test! Then it’s on to applying this knowledge of strategies and enhanced conceptual understanding to actual practice tests, keeping track of progress with consistent goal setting. As we tackle specific practice test questions, I am constantly drawing students’ attention to the relevant section of their reference material or guiding them in notetaking to ensure they don’t make the same mistake twice!

My regular subject students reap the benefit of my test prep expertise and approach. I frequently have opportunities, especially with high school English and math students, to share strategies and insights from the tests to give them a competitive advantage in class. Goal-setting is also a typical part of my approach for my regularly-scheduled students in all subjects. For these students, I allocate time in the first session to discuss where they'd like to be, in terms of grades, knowledge, and/or skills, and what they plan to do to get there. I then make a point of getting clarity on conceptual or skill deficiencies in the first couple of sessions, typically through the use of diagnostics, so that I can help students build (or rebuild) a solid foundation during any extra time not used to address urgent class needs.

I believe that teaching is a sharing in truth and that tutoring especially should be a collaborative experience! I hope you’ll team up with me to engage the subject matter! I’ll be sure to respond within 24 hours or less.