PhD Chemistry Graduate who can teach Chemistry to any skill level! Qualified and friendly.

Find out more about Kimberlee

• 1) When did you develop an interest in your chosen field and in private tutoring?

  I became interested in private Chemistry tutoring while working as a General Chemistry TA in college. I noticed that many students would have difficulty understanding the professor's explanation of certain topics and so I'd try to find creative and different ways to explain them. I also tried to remember what it was like to be a student and not understand Chemistry and channel that into my explanation. It was so gratifying to see students have a lightbulb moment about a particularly difficult concept. I knew I wanted to experience that on a daily basis and thus my career as a private tutor began.

• 2) Tell us more about the subject you teach, the topics you like to discuss with students (and possibly those you like a little less).

  I teach Chemistry to at all levels. I love discussing subjects that I feel like can be understood deeply by a student (such as Acid/Chemistry, Equilibrium, NMR, OChem mechanism) and am less of a fan of topics that just require brute memorization (such as OChem nomenclature and molecular orbital theory) But regardless, I'm happy to help with all of it and can give techniques to help with the ones that are more memorization heavy.

• 3) Did you have any role models; a teacher that inspired you?

  I really struggled in Chemistry classes my freshman year. I lived in the TA lab and looked up to my TAs (Brooke, Dianna and Jessie) so much. While they knew their stuff, they were more importantly approachable and kind. It can be hard to ask for help, but they made it easy! I knew I wanted to be like them. No one likes to feel dumb when learning a difficult subject and they never did. So I strive to do the same.

• 4) What do you think are the qualities required to be a good tutor?

  A good tutor is one who knows when to talk and when to listen. A tutoring session should not feel like a lecture, it should be a dialogue where the tutor strives to understand where the student is at and what gap in knowledge is required for mastery of the subject. It is also important to be patient and kind. Learning is a vulnerable experience and you want to feel like you're doing it with a friend, not a superior. Finally, it is important to be able to cater your teaching to a student's level. You can't talk above where they're at and expect them to understand. You need to find the right words to use.

• 5) Provide a valuable anecdote related to your subject or your days at school.

  I always like to share with students that I was NOT the smartest kid in my Chemistry classes. I got SO much help from fellow students and TAs. I always made study groups and went to the TA lab. One particularly fun memory of studying was covering the entire sidewalk in front of the college chemistry building with mechanisms in chalk studying for my OChem final. You've got to make the studying fun somehow! But since I wasn't a "natural" at Chemistry, I feel like that makes it easier for me to teach it to others because I too had to learn how to learn Chemistry.

• 6) What were the difficulties or challenges you faced or still facing in your subject?

  A lot of Chemistry is based on complicated models that were created by really smart people. I'd by lying if I said I understand atomic theories, Schrodinger's equations and Hameltonians on a deep level (these are all Physical Chemistry subjects). Thankfully, for most Chemistry, you can get by without needing a deep understanding of these subjects.

• 7) Do you have a particular passion? Is it teaching in general or an element of the subject or something completely different?

  I'm particularly passionate about teaching people about NMR in OChem and about Equilibrium problems in general chemistry. Both are solved like puzzles (which are a passion of mine) and so it's fun to teach students about them.

• 8) What makes you a Superprof (besides answering this interview questions :-P)?

  I would say my SuperProf super power is being able to explain complicated topics in a simple manner. Many people have come to me with little to no understanding of chemistry and I've been able to help them bridge that gap.