What better way to kick off Piqosity’s online private tutoring than getting to know the exceptional individuals you could work with! We would like you to meet Alex John: Alex is committed to fostering academic excellence in a way that is consistent and flexible for his students. Discover his unique tutoring style, his approach to personalized sessions, and his passions beyond the classroom.

What subjects and classes do you help our students with?

I can help students with all levels of math up to Calculus. I usually help K-8 students with science, but occasionally tutor at a high school level as well, especially for physics and chemistry. I also help with standardized exams like the ACT, SAT, and ISEE.

What is your educational background?

I have a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Rice University and I taught 8th grade Math at YES Prep here in Houston for a few years. During my final year, I was a tutorial curriculum writer and then facilitator for the tutoring of students who had fallen behind due to the pandemic.

I’ve left the classroom, but education is both a skill and passion of mine, so now I work with students in a one on one setting for tutoring.

What is your favorite subject to tutor?

I am a diehard Math fan. I enjoy working with elementary students all the way through seniors taking Calculus.

Math feels like the most rewarding subject to teach because there are quantifiable moments of success when a student picks up a new skill or gets a challenging question correct.

I tend to describe my education style as narratively driven, building from one concept to the next. Since I have the opportunity to work on a variety of Math content levels, I’ve gotten even more comfortable with progressing through each curriculum level.

What does a typical subject tutoring session with you look like?

  • The first 5 minutes is usually a check-in on how the previous week of class and material went since the last session as well as identifying any upcoming deadlines/assignments.
  • The student tends to drive the direction of the work each session by either needing support on homework, projects, or needing to study and review for an impending exam. I am flexible in the approach to each student and each session, so it is ultimately whatever will help the student the most.
  • We may reteach the lesson if the student isn’t ready for the homework.
  • If we find the extra time, we preview upcoming lesson topics. I have a pretty broad math curriculum knowledge from working in multiple subjects, so I can help students get ahead.
  • The end of each session is a typical wrap-up to repeat any upcoming deadlines and have a final check for understanding on any material that was taught that day.

What does a typical test prep tutoring session with you look like?

  • Students are given a couple minutes at the start to get situated, and for us to talk about their week conversationally.
  • After the first session we usually have homework to review from assigned practice questions, and we tackle these first.
  • We identify any goals or notable reactions to the previous week’s work.
  • Then we spend most of the hour reviewing and correcting questions. An average session might be 20 minutes of corrections and 30 minutes of teaching/reteaching missing content, but a more advanced test taker might have a much shorter correction/review period. For these individuals, we instead pull up new challenging questions to push their flexibility and problem solving skills.
  • At the end of each session, we summarize any key points of wisdom from the recent work and assign the next section of homework.

What’s your typical approach with working on executive functioning with students?

I work with young and older students, so the approach to executive functioning can vary from student to student.

Younger students tend to need modeling of good routines and habits. For example, knowing how to track any upcoming assignments/homework or identifying what days of the week will be used on each type of work.

Older students tend to need an external layer of accountability and help viewing the big picture or impact of any particular work. I like to offer wisdom on what are good habits to build now for when they are independent at college in the future.

How do you view your role as a tutor?

For some students, I exist as a teacher because I am able to present lesson content that a student is lacking in or teach topics ahead of their class. I have years experience from my time in the classroom, and I can easily turn on the teacher lecture vibes if needed.

In other contexts, though, I provide mentorship through general wisdom and share past experiences. This aspect of the job shows up a lot with students who are seeking help with planning and logistical skills, as well as with ISEE/SAT/ACT prep and college admissions.

Tell me about one of your favorite sessions you’ve had.

One of my favorite sessions was with a student that needed SAT prep. By the time we had reached the end of our sessions, our last meeting bnbefore their attempt was very satisfying due to their immense progress.

The student had reached a level where reviewing the assigned homework took only 10 minutes, so I got to spend the rest of the session searching through our test bank for the most challenging questions I could find. It was a point where I didn’t need to teach direct content knowledge, but instead could focus on complex problem solving.

As a math nerd, this type of work is simply fun. Identifying which techniques are optimal time-wise, or finding creative “unintended” solutions is where math shines.

What is your favorite part of being a tutor?

My favorite part of tutoring was also my favorite part of teaching. The one-on-one continual connection-building with students and learning how best to support each individual is very gratifying.

Watching the progress of a student finally understanding the depth and complexity to quadratic functions, or seeing a 5th grader finally master finding the average of a set of numbers feels very rewarding after weeks of work. Helping students reach their goals is my goal.

Outside of tutoring for us, what do you like to do for fun?

I am a very competitive person, so I enjoy video games, board games, and sports. Recently, I’ve been playing sand volleyball with some friends on a weekly basis, but basketball used to be my favorite sport to play. My wife and I have a giant board game table and 3 full shelves of games, and we usually have at least one game partially set-up at any given moment.

Fun things that don’t involve participating in a game include following the NFL, catching up on streaming shows, or reading my backlog of books that I purchased without opening. My main read right now is any of Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere novels (a fantasy franchise with a connected universe).

If you could have dinner with anyone, who would it be and why?

As a follow up to the prior question, I’d use this dinner opportunity to nerd out and try and ask spoiler questions for future books of Brandon Sanderson.

Online Tutoring with Piqosity

Piqosity’s subject and test prep tutors provide the structured support to accommodate your student wherever they need to be. We help our students with a wide range of materials, ranging from 1st through 12th grade subject prep, and standardized exams like the ISEE and SAT. To get the ball rolling, give us a call at +1-888-484-3141 or schedule a free consultation.