Hi! I’m Miranda! I am a private math tutor in the Charlottesville, Virginia area. I started my math tutoring career in 2004 and I have been helping people learn math ever since. Originally from Washington State, I studied applied mathematics at Brown University and then worked for several years as a tutoring center administrator before moving to Virginia. I previously held a Virginia state teaching license for grades 6-12 mathematics. When I’m not tutoring, I spend my time making art puppet shows, cooking and gardening, and hanging out with my fabulous cat, Juniper Junebug.
My Tutoring Philosophy
My ultimate goal is always for my students to become able to solve problems on their own. Like a good doctor, who wants their patients only to need to come in for checkups, I want my students to be able to think and problem-solve as independent learners. I teach problem solving strategies. I help students develop positive self-talk for confidence building and for catching errors. I teach the questions to ask yourself so that you can work yourself through problems you encounter. I am committed to countering “math myths” like the idea that there is only one way to solve a problem or that some people are “math people” and others aren’t. I recommend the websites youcubed.org and mathforlove.com for great resources from math educators who share my philosophies.
Plenty of math teachers never ask you to think for yourself. When one finally does, it can be startling.
While I encourage my students to ask for direct explanations when they really need them, my focus is on getting students to come up with ideas themselves. The process of discovery is what can really make math fun and engaging! Plus, having ownership of an idea makes it much easier to remember. I start by finding out what a student already knows about the topic or related ideas, and build from there. No mind is a “blank slate” and everything in math is connected to other kinds of math and to logic and reasoning that we all use in everyday life.
Customized Support
One of the best things about private tutoring is that as I work with a student, I custom-tailor my help to match their learning styles as closely as possible and gently stretch them to learn in new ways. With weekly sessions, I build an ongoing conversation with each student where we reflect together on how they think and how they learn. I help my students become better problem solvers not just in math class but in all parts of their lives.
Real math with real heart
Math with Miranda 