Here at The Study Hut sometimes saying goodbye is a happy occasion. As the summer is coming to an end so we say goodbye to a few of our tutors. Not to worry! Their departure is not due to sub-par performance or conflicts between other tutors, but because they are once again joining the ranks of US college students or are exploring the world in hopes of expanding human knowledge.
We are happy to see one tutor off to Columbia University this fall. Jenna who has worked with us this last year came to us already with some teaching experience. She had taught and substituted for a few of the lower elementary grades after finishing school. Now she is going for her Masters degree in education. We are always happy people using their skills to teach other and help others.
Another tutor will also be leaving not just us, the whole United States. Jenny, after a few years helping kids in our Redondo office, is packing up and leaving for Australia. A marine-bio major, Jenny spent time studying sharks while in school. Now she plans on continuing that hobby/love. She will be camping out on the remote coast of Australia tracking, recording, and studying the local shark behavior. After a few months she will then be attending graduate school in Australia.
We wish Jenna and Jenny the best of luck on their new adventures.
Saying Goodbye to a Few of Our Own
August 21st, 2012PV AVID Finals tutoring
January 11th, 2012Study Hut tutors could not be more excited for the big Finals push. We have students from AVID coming in for private tutoring all week, but we also have a huge event scheduled for Saturday. As in years past, we will be hosting an all day tutoring and study session on campus at Palos Verdes High School. We will have access to multiple different classrooms, and tutors will get to go into different rooms and help students with the specific subjects they need most help with.
This year, there will undoubtedly be math tutoring, science tutoring (including biology tutoring and chemistry tutoring), history tutoring, from World History and EHAP to U.S. History, Government, and Economics tutoring. Math tutoring will include algebra tutoring, geometry tutoring, algebra 2 tutoring, pre-calculus tutoring, trigonometry tutoring, and maybe even some calculus and FTS tutoring.
We will also, of course, have English tutoring, writing tutoring for students with an upcoming final paper, Spanish tutoring (all levels), and probably a few other subjects as well.
The event is free (and required!) for all AVID students, and speaking from past experience, it is an extremely productive event for all students involved. The teachers always come to support, supervise, and offer their knowledge as well.
And best of all, we are getting El Taco Man ordered, so he will be showing up with his cart, and all the tacos any young man or woman can eat. Does it get any better than this? I think not. See you on Saturday.
Bringing Down Goliath: The best way to Study Biology
May 2nd, 2011So you have a huge end-of-the-year comprehensive biology test coming up, and since you’ve been cramming every chapter test since the beginning of this year, you don’t remember anything. What do you do? Where do you even start? To begin, you should realize that for a huge subject such as biology, cramming all the details just isn’t going to work. There are way too many intricate details to be able to memorize each and every one from all the chapters. And before you think about cramming again for this final, consider this: most science majors require at least a year of biology in college, and a good chunk of the information is overlap from what you learned in high school. Therefore, the better a foundation you set for yourself now, the more it’s going to pay off not only now in high school, but in college, and maybe for the rest of your future as well.
To begin, break down biology into manageable chunks of information. Don’t just rush through reading every chapter and then realize you’ve already forgotten everything, but break it down by paragraphs and really try to visualize what’s going on. Carefully analyze the diagrams, draw your own pictures, watch (relevant) youtube videos, etc. There are lots of excellent visual resources online that can make understanding the material much easier, and they’re free! After visualizing the information, you’ll find it a lot easier to memorize, and then it’s just about reviewing the information consistently to reinforce what you’ve learn, while slowly adding more details to your knowledge.
Another great way to study biology is to review the information with your friends. Choose a topic, and popcorn each other to begin describing everything you know about the topic. Everyone always focuses on different aspects, and you’ll be able to take notes on what points you forgot to pay attention to.
Remember: there’s something in biology for everyone! Whether or not you love or hate science, biology plays a very relevant part to our everyday lives. Whether you want to learn the most effective way to work out, want to learn what to do to eat healthy and stay fit, or just how to prevent breakouts, biology will teach you the basics of how the human body works and allow you to make educated decisions to improve your health!
Balancing Equations in El Segundo
March 28th, 2011El Segundo High School students that need chemistry tutoring are in luck. Study Hut tutoring in El Segundo is going to get you going where you want to go. We are experts in every subject, with tutors who’s knowledge is and teaching style is tailored to each of the students who come in for subject help and test prep. Take a look at this breakdown from Andy, our UCLA bio/chem major who dominates science like nobodies business (but ours!):
Sometimes balancing chemical equations is easy….unfortunately it can also be
a nightmare! When all else fails there is one way to balance an equation that will
always work; with ALGEBRA! Who ever said learning math wasn’t useful?
To solve balance chemical equations using algebra start by assigning a variable
to each part of the reaction. For example if we had the unbalanced equation
NaHCO2 + C6H8O7 ——-> CO2 + H2O + Na3C6H5O7
First we assign a value of 1 as the coefficient of the first compound. We then give
letter designations to the other coefficients.
(1)NaHCO2 + (A)C6H8O7 ——-> (B)CO2 + (C)H2O + (D)Na3C6H5O7
Now we can establish relationships between the variables based on the different
atoms.
Sodium: 1=3D
Hydrogen: 1 + 8A = 2C + 5D
Carbon: 1 + 6A= B + 6D
Oxygen: 2 + 7A = 2B + C + 7D
Now we solve these equations starting with Sodium
1=3D ——–> D=1/3
We then plug D=1/3 into the Hydrogen and Oxygen equations and solve for C
and B respectively:
1 + 8A = 2C + 5D ———> C = 4A – 1/3
1 + 6A = B + 6D ———–> B = 6A -1
Finally if we put these into the Oxygen equation we can solve for A:
2 + 7A = 2B + C + 7D ———–> 2 + 7A = 2(6A-1) + (4A-1/3) + 7(1/3)
This give A = 2/9. Now we can go back to Hydrogen and Oxygen and solve for C
and D.
C = 4A – 1/3 —–> 4(2/9) – 1/3 = C
C = 5/9
B = 6A -1 ——–> 6(2/9) -1 = B
B= 3/9
This give us: (1)NaHCO2 + (2/9)C6H8O7 ——-> (3/9)CO2 + (5/9)H2O + (1/3)
Na3C6H5O7
To get whole numbers we multiply by 9 giving us the solution!
(9)NaHCO2 + (2)C6H8O7 ——-> (3)CO2 + (5)H2O + (3)Na3C6H5O7
This method may seem complex, but it is guaranteed to work for any chemical
equation!
Tailored Tutoring at Study Hut: A tutor’s perspective
March 23rd, 2011Today was very exciting day at Study Hut Tutoring. My first student, Jordan, came in
with some math homework. He was having a hard time understanding what side of the graph to
shade in on linear equations, so we tried to plug values in for x and y and see where they relate
to line. This made things very clear. Jordan realized he could just shade in the region of the
graph that makes the original equation true. With the key concept making more sense, the rest of
the homework was a breeze. We also talked about cool dissections that we’ve both done in our
various science classes. Jordan talked about how much he hated taking earth science, but really
enjoyed the life science class especially because of the dissections. Jordan heard that students at
PVHS get to dissect a sheep’s brain in their anatomy class, and it sounds like he’s really wants to
go there.
My second student, Matthew, came in with an assignment from his Police Academy
program. He has to format his notes in a precise order, and any mistakes would mean he has to
restart the entire page. Matthew got a 98% on his Geometry test and an 89% on his history test,
but he really wanted to complete his Police Academy assignment before his training on
Saturday. Unfortunately Matt made a spelling mistake, at the very end of his page so he had to
rewrite the entire page. Matt and I also talked about better note taking techniques for English
class. He was given a reading assignment, but there were no highlighted or underlined words. I
told him to make sure he makes marks or notes on the pages he reads, so when it comes time to
study or right a paper he can find his annotations a lot faster.
My third student of the day, Robbie, also came in with math homework. Robbie might
have enjoyed a little too much of the delicious Study Hut candy, because he had a lot of energy
tonight. He would fall a little off task, but he was still able to complete all of his math
homework and most of his spelling. Robbie had to multiply fractions and he had a strong grasp
of the overall idea, but was a little confused when to cross multiply in order to reduce the
fraction. But, after the clarification he breezed through the rest of the math problems and started
his spelling packet. Robbie didn’t understand the point of spelling homework, and that reminded
me of when I used to complain about getting tons of homework. Just a torture device teachers
hand out. He wasn’t able to complete the entire packet during his session, but he has enough
time tonight to finish it at home.
Unfortunately, my fourth student, Montana, couldn’t make it tonight. But, that gave me
enough free time to write about my day, so I guess it was a positive after all.
Announcement: Study Hut El Segundo is here
February 9th, 2011Study Hut Tutoring is proud to announce the opening of its newest location. Study Hut El Segundo will be having its soft opening on Monday, March 7, 2001, at which point students will begin subject tutoring and SAT tutoring as usual.
We already have a small client base that will be starting immediately. These students currently attend El Segundo High School, El Segundo Middle School, Richmond Street School, Center Street Elementary, Arena High School, St. Bernard High School, among other schools.
Study Hut Tutoring El Segundo will be staffed by young, local tutors, fresh out of college. We specialize by subject, and can handle almost any class through the high school level. We can tutor almost every AP class, and we also tutor Loyola Marymount students in select subjects. Finding a good LMU tutor can prove to be difficult, and our students are always ecstatic about the service they receive.
Here are a few of the subjects that we tutor at Study Hut Tutoring:
– Math tutoring: algebra; geometry; trigonometry; pre-calculus; AP Calculus; AP Statistics.
– English tutoring: All levels, K-12th grade, and college.
– Science tutoring: biology; chemistry; physics; marine biology; physiology.
– History tutoring: world history/European history; U.S. history; geography; economics; government
– Spanish tutoring
We also provide one-on-one SAT tutoring in El Segundo, as well as training for the SAT 2s, PSAT, ACT, PLAN, HSPT, COOP, TACHS, and ISEE.
For pre-enrollment and guaranteed placement in a preferred time slot, or for general questions before March, please call our Manhattan Beach office at 310-546-2408, and ask for the owner, Rob. We will add the El Segundo phone number to the website as soon as it becomes available.
Meghan from Redondo Union High School is Benefitting from Study Hut
November 16th, 2010I am a new tutor at the Study Hut and am excited to be working with great students in the South Bay! I have really enjoyed working with one student in particular, Meghan from Redondo Union High School. Meghan enjoys sports and school but homework isn’t her favorite thing to do after being at school all day. Meghan is really busy and explained to me that she enjoys coming to the Study Hut so she can focus on homework. There are a lot of distractions in her life, but she said receiving tutoring helps her get her work done.
One afternoon Meghan came in and all of the work she had for the day seemed really overwhelming to her. We took one subject at a time and made a task list for the day. As we completed assignments, Meghan crossed things off her list and felt like she accomplished a lot. One subject we worked on was Earth Science. Plate Tectonics were confusing and Meghan didn’t think she would be able to understand them. After re-reading the chapter, we were able to break down the main concepts, define important words and successfully answer the review questions at the end of the chapter. Meghan learned how to search for answers using her textbook and in the end, realized that Plate Tectonics weren’t as confusing as she had originally thought.
I enjoyed working with Meghan because I know how overwhelming school and homework can seem. I enjoy helping students realize that they are fully capable of completing their work and to take things one-step at a time. At the end of our session, Meghan learned how to keep her work organized and felt more confident. Helping students succeed is why I enjoy tutoring and am looking forward to meeting more students!
How do we comprehend other dimensions from our own? (Applied science and math)
August 10th, 2009
Science most definitely should not be handled by the faint of mind. People need to understand that the difference between three-dimensional and two-dimensional is the number of axis. Any two-dimensional (2-D) object is defined by a “x” and “y” axis , where as any three-dimensional (3-D) object is defined by a “x”, “y”, and “z” axis. In simpler terms, a 2-D object has length and width, whereas a 3-D object has length, width, and height, therefore giving it volume.
Physicists believe there are anywhere from 10 to 26 physical dimensions, each discretely chosen from the patterns of atomic string vibrations. How would you explain the 10th dimension to someone? Perhaps the way to understand something abstract is through an analogy. Instead attempting to explain the concept of 10 dimensions through scientific terms, I will first attempt to explain how we relate to 2-D objects through actions in the 3rd dimension, and then relate the 3rd and 4th dimension together. I really hope that you are able follow along since I think this is one of the most fascinating physical characteristics of our world, and very few people understand the concept of multiple dimensions. Well, here we go!
Students entering High School next year
April 1st, 2009
STEP UP:
One-on-one summer program for 8th graders entering High School
As the end of the school year nears, it’s time to start thinking about the transition into a new high school. Bigger classes, different teachers for different classes, more homework, and more difficult material can be overwhelming if a student is not prepared to handle the stress of a new high school. Now is the time for eighth graders to sharpen their organization skills and develop new study tactics so they can stay on top of their work as they smoothly transition into ninth grade. Read the rest of this entry »
