Derek

Certified Tutor

In 2016, I earned my B.M. in Music Education from Capital University. During my coursework I refined my skills in various K-12 classrooms and fostered a true passion for helping students succeed. As I continued my teaching experiences throughout my degree program, I recognized that I not only had a passion for individual student success, but I had a strong desire to help students access additional education. As such, I completed my M.A. in College Student Personnel at Bowling Green State University, where I worked as a student organization advisor and graduate hall director. In this setting, I continued understanding individual students and working with them to obtain personal, academic, and professional goals. Additionally, I led many workshops and presentations for students. Throughout each of my degree programs, I maintained a role as a teacher and as an advocate for student success. A full list of my experiences can be seen on my resume.

As a teacher and tutor, I aim to build individual relationships and understandings of my students. This, in particular, informs the way I guide and present information to students. Another core part of my teaching and tutoring philosophy is that each student can find success if given the encouragement and tools. In my teaching and tutoring, I find ways in which I can foster excitement for learning and confidence in particular subjects. Additionally, I help the student development independence in their learning and discovering of helpful tools. A final aspect of my philosophy is that students must encounter a balance of challenge and support. Nevitt Sanford presented this theory describing that students experience growth when given equal levels of both. As a teacher and tutor, I ensure students are feeling encouraged, successful, and seeing growth while also needing to exert effort and thought. This allows me to meet a student where they are at and gradually help them grow to where they wish to be (and possibly beyond).

At this time, I am available to tutor many music-related topics, including but not limited to music theory, aural skills, and diction. Additionally, I am able to provide tutoring for Spanish, some mathematics, ACT preparation, and study/organization skills. Out of these subjects, I am partial to topics related to Music. This will always be the case due to my initial studies as a music educator. Despite this, I am always looking forward to working with students on whatever material they wish to explore. I look forward to possibly helping you learn, prepare, and find success!