"Hi, I’m Mike. I had an early love of math and coding, winning a national award in the Westinghouse Science Talent Search in my senior year of high school. I graduated from Caltech and then worked at NASA for 16 years where I fit naturally into the role of teaching the rocket scientists how to code. After that, I moved on to tutoring math and coding students in middle and high school, and college. I’ve been teaching coding and math for over 11 years. I’m passionate about teaching!

Most tutors see their job as explaining how to solve the problem. I certainly can explain problems to my students, but more than that, I help them become teachers to themselves. They gain the skills to solve problems on their own without me, like when taking a test.

My teaching uses techniques from learning science. Here are some of the learning strategies I teach:

- I tell my students: Become the teacher yourself. Explain the problem to me. This is a powerful way to build confidence.

- Use spaced repetition, which is reviewing key information at regular intervals. I help my students make flashcards to do this.

- And I use many more learning science strategies.

Beyond getting better at math and coding, my students learn to have a “growth mindset.” I can help them meet challenges head-on, get up and keep going when they fall down, and learn from mistakes rather than thinking they’re “no good” at math or coding. Persistent effort is more important than talent. I celebrate every small win.

If this sounds good to you, you can also scroll down to Examples of Expertise to see and hear me teach!" less...