PrepNow Tutor - Jenna A.
Having prepared students from pre-K to post-undergraduate for standardized tests, Jenna has acquired a plethora of tutoring skills; she has taught math, science, language arts, and test prep. She received her BS from the University of Massachusetts, where she majored in psychology and minored in cognitive science. Subsequently, she had numerous positions in education: she developed a national algebra standard with Pearson Educational Measurement; she was a reading and math specialist at a private school; she became a seasoned test prep instructor. In addition to tutoring, she is a master's student at Harvard University, where she studies industrial and organizational psychology.
Jenna's journey in test prep instruction began because of the high number of students in the Boston area prepping for the ISEE and the SSAT. She launched into helping students of all ages prepare for their examinations: IQ tests for 3, 4, and 5-year-olds (WPPSI-IV and WPPSI-V); grade school entrance exams (ISEE and SSAT); college entrance exams (SAT and ACT); and graduate school entrance exams (GRE, GMAT, and LSAT). She also instructed elementary to college-level maths, high school and undergraduate topics in science (biology, chemistry, and physics), and K-12 language arts (phonics, grammar, reading, and writing).
As to her teaching philosophy, Jenna believes she needs to "foster and reward useful strategies and study habits." Her approach relies on respect and compassion for each student; her mantra is to treat each student as a "future leader of America." From visualizations to dedicated practice, she imparts whichever methods fit best for the student and topic. For instance, she taught five-year-olds how to use an abacus for addition and subtraction by imagining beads. "Subsequently the children could do very large calculations mentally," she reflects. Overall, Jenna encourages curiosity and critical thinking in all her students.
In high school, Jenna was in the National Honor Society and earned the title of valedictorian. She played basketball in high school and practiced classical ballet in college.
These days, she is passionate about the arts, particularly craftsmanship. She enjoys painting, drawing, and carpentry.
Fun fact: Jenna's favorite summer was when she was accepted to an architecture camp at Georgia Tech. She was a teenager at the time, but still uses the design-build skills she learned there!
|