I have been teaching math full-time for five years. I am available for tutoring by appointment, generally in the afternoon and evenings. I can meet at your home, in a classroom, or in one of our public libraries.

I completed my full math credential in June 2007. I hold a bachelor's degree in biology from UC Irvine and a Master of Arts in Education (Instructional Technology) from Cal State San Bernardino.

My previous career was as a software analyst and computer programmer. For 20 years, I worked in various aerospace and software companies in Los Angeles. Through testing and troubleshooting software, I learned lifelong lessons in critical thinking.

To the best of my ability, I integrate critical thinking into all my classroom activities, where I insist on students defending their answers out loud and in written work. I find -- and research supports this -- that full mastery of new ideas is only through high-order learning, including analysis, synthesis and evaluation. This kind of learning is typically the most "painful," and it's possible your student is struggling with math because he or she has in the past been able to get by with the most superficial categories of learning.