Daniel Bowling is another versed private tutor here at General Academic, and today we’re excited to highlight his unique tutoring style. Daniel has been working with students at General Academic for 5 years, being overtly committed to fostering academic excellence in a way that is flexible and encouraging. Discover his approach to personalized sessions and passions beyond the classroom.
What subjects and classes do you help our students with?
I work with all ages of students ranging from elementary to high school. I primarily teach math and science subjects as well as courses directed to entrance examinations like the ACT and ISEE.
What is your educational background?
I have a B.S. degree from UH in Biochemistry and am currently studying Chemical Engineering at UH. I was also a peer tutor at the University of Texas in Dallas for General Chemistry and Differential Calculus.
What is your favorite subject to tutor?
Math and Science are my favorite subjects to tutor. For math I like to help the students make connections between the different concepts they have learned through the year and how they can use previous concepts as building blocks to help learn and remember new material.
I also like to try and make math approachable for students; I feel that many students come in with a lack of confidence in their mathematical ability. It is great to see students realize that they are more than capable to do what they are learning in math and that with practice it may even come easy to them.
For science courses, I enjoy discussing the ideas and reasoning of scientific concepts with students. I like to conceptualize what they are learning into real world examples so that they can better understand and identify specific scientific concepts.
What does a typical subject tutoring session with you look like?
- I start all of my sessions with a quick check in with the student, asking them how their day and school has been. We talk about any concerns they may have with their school classes or workload so that we can discuss a strategy to address and work through these issues.
- I will ask them what would be the most useful way for us to spend our time, or what is the most important thing for them to work on for school right now.
- We will also talk about if there are any tests/quizzes coming up and what their study plan currently is or what a study plan could look like.
- We will then go through any work they might have, with an emphasis on guiding the student in understanding the concepts behind what they are doing. If they are struggling with a certain concept or question, I will spend some time going over that concept and give extra examples of the problem before having them work through the material themselves.
- Sometimes I will assign practice to further their understanding outside of session, or try to help them get ahead by tying in said concepts with ones that will build upon it in the future.
What does a typical test prep tutoring session with you look like?
- We review any work they did at home that they may have questions over, then check and discuss how practicing at home has been.
- We then move into working through test prep questions and concepts. If there is a particularly tricky question or concept for the student, we will spend extra time solving similar problems to help in generalizing the concept.
- At the end of the session we discuss what practice would be most beneficial to do as homework and set this as an in-home assignment.
What’s your typical approach with working on executive functioning with younger students?
Executive functioning needs may vary for different students, but I like to focus on organization, setting goals, consciously focusing, and building confidence.
Some specific examples that I use to promote these include:
- Learning to keep track of assignments through a calendar or agenda of tasks
- How to come up with a plan for large assignments by breaking things down into smaller steps and setting a timeline to complete each step
- Practice catching themselves when they are drifting off and learning to quickly refocus.
How do you view your role as a tutor?
As a tutor, I try to tailor the experience to the students wants and needs.
Some students come in just wanting to work through school material and need help understanding any concepts they may be struggling with. For these students, I act more as a teacher with the primary goal of helping them succeed academically.
Other students come in for more guidance on the educational process as a whole, such as study habits, how to manage workloads, keeping track of assignments, problems with classmates and/or teachers, or school motivation. Of course, this is typically in addition to helping with issues on subject material as well. For these students I see my role as both a teacher and mentor. We discuss whatever their issues may be and how these problems can be addressed, with a focus on being understanding and encouraging.
Tell me about one of your favorite sessions you’ve had.
One of my favorite sessions I have had would actually be a session I had with a middle schooler that revolved around executive functioning. He came in struggling to understand a specific math concept from school, but it went deeper than not understanding what was said in class. He seemed to stress himself out by not being sure of where to begin in taking on problems or building upon concepts. He was also overwhelmed by his disorganization and lack of academic confidence, causing him to fall behind.
So to begin, we worked back to similar topics to help him connect the dots for current and future lessons. Then we would touch on the concept he brought to me, and with the buildable concepts fresh in his memory, we spent time practicing applying the concept to example problems. At the session’s end, we diligently took notes and set up a practice plan that would help him get into an academic routine.
The rest is history. He walked away more capable and much more confident than before, and immediately utilized the study plan and routine for improvement. Sometimes all it takes is the right guidance!
What is your favorite part of being a tutor?
My favorite part of being a tutor is seeing a student gain confidence in an area that was previously lacking. This is especially the case for math concepts, as students tend to have a hard time with continuously buildable concepts and retaining methods or various formulas.
Outside of tutoring for us, what do you like to do for fun?
Outside of tutoring I love reading scientific papers, playing with and training my dogs, watching professional sports, and playing video games with friends. I am also very fond of the outdoors and wildlife: I love painting as well as hiking whenever I get the chance!
If you could have dinner with anyone, who would it be and why?
I would love to have dinner with a person from an ancient hunter-gatherer tribe that still lives traditionally. It would be great to hear their perspective on life, happiness, and fulfillment.
Tutoring with General Academic
General Academic’s subject and test prep tutors provide the structured support to accommodate your student wherever they’re at. We help our students with a wide range of materials, ranging from 1st through 12th grade subject prep, ISEE, and SAT. To get the ball rolling, give us a call at (713) 838-7774 or fill out our tutoring request form.
