Tutor Spotlight: Emma Coley
Meet Emma.
We welcomed a new tutor to the team this year, and this Princeton graduate has been using her exceptional experience to help students navigate distance learning, overcome challenges and reach their academic goals. Now that she’s got some more North Avenue experience under her belt, we asked her a few questions about her work so far.
What's one thing you love about tutoring?
I love watching students become more reflective learners. Weekly one-on-one or small group tutoring really gives you the opportunity to get to know a student’s learning style, where they have opportunities to grow, and how to help them do so. I find that, after only a few sessions, students are able to better articulate these things for themselves as well. By the end of our time together, they become confident directors of their own learning.
What’s one study tip every student should know?
Give yourself time to read and write slowly. Ideas take time both to be absorbed and to be produced. You will have a much more enjoyable (and fulfilling) reading experience if you give yourself enough lead time to read a chapter or two a day rather than plowing through an entire book in one night, and the same goes for writing.
The best piece of writing advice I received in college was this: the day you receive a writing assignment, copy and paste it into a document in your computer and jot down a few bullet points. Every day from then on, spend 5-10 minutes rereading the prompt and what you wrote, even if you don’t write anything new. This keeps the prompt fresh in your mind, making it more likely that inspiration will strike, and will help you develop more complex ideas and relationships. It also makes the writing process so much smoother--and more fun!
What was your favorite class in high school and why?
My favorite class in high school was AP Literature. My teacher, Mrs. Varnish, started each class with a short poem--and now I do the same thing with my English students! Before this class, I found poetry to be difficult and intimidating. This class taught me that, like anything else, reading and analyzing poetry is a skill that can be learned and practiced. She also introduced me to many of my favorite poems: “You Begin” by Margaret Atwood, “Weighing the Dog” by Billy Collins, “Digging” by Seamus Heaney, “Spring and Fall” by Gerard Manley Hopkins, to name only a few!
Can you share an example of a student you were proud of for reaching their goals?
One of my first students had severe test anxiety. This made it hard for him to demonstrate his knowledge and ability, especially on timed tests. One of my main goals as his tutor was to boost his confidence and find ways to keep him grounded and his mind calm in a testing environment.
The feeling he described – of all the words just blending together when he was under pressure – was a familiar one from my own standardized test taking experiences. As a way to work through this, we practiced identifying “locator words,” simple words or phrases he could latch on to, even if the words around them were confusing. In a test like the ACT Science section, this could be phrases as simple as “In Figure 1” or “According to Scientist 2,” buried in seemingly complicated passages about genetics or particle physics. Finding concrete, simple ways to direct his reading reduced his anxiety and helped him reach his goals.
What do you admire about Portland teenagers?
One of my favorite things about Portland teenagers is their sincere love of the city. As a recent transplant from the Midwest, they are always giving me ideas for new adventures and motivating me to explore!
