Science Tutors
Parent Q&A
Archived Q&A and Reviews
Tutor for AP Biology Class
Oct 2013
My daughter is a good student, but really struggling with her AP Biology course at Berkeley High school. I'm thinking that she may benefit from a tutor. Does anyone have recommendations for a good tutor for this course? Any idea how much they would charge? I've searched previous postings, but there aren't many recommendations for this particular course. It would also be helpful to hear from other parents of students who have taken this course. Is there anything else you would recommend other than getting a tutor? Thanks in advance for your support and recommendations. BH mom
Ugh! That AP Biology class! We suffered through that a couple of years ago. It covers an overwhelming amount of information and requires students to really step up their studying skills. We used a tutor from Achieve Learning (on Grand in Oakland) paying $45/hour for a tutor who would come to our house. That tutor is no longer there but they might have someone else who can tutor this subject.
We have also liked the Bay Area Tutoring Center in Berkeley (not for AP Bio, for geometry and pre-calculus but I know they tutor AP Bio), for which we paid $55/hour but we had to go to Berkeley.
I pushed my daughter (to no avail) to join a study group or get a study buddy which was recommended by her teacher; I think it definitely helps to study this with others. We also got her a supplemental study guide and she watched videos on the Khan Academy site.
With all of this (plus some study help from me) she managed to improve her grade but it was definitely an uphill battle. Glad to have AP Bio in the rearview
Review: math and science tutor
Sept 2011
I am writing to give a sincere recommendation for Josh Shiode, a highly qualified tutor for high school level math and science. We first learned of Josh last week through Chat Hull, a tutor who we read about on BPN. We were desperately looking for a tutor who could help our 16-year old daughter with AP Calculus and Mechanical Physics. Chat was fully booked for the semester, but suggested that we contact Josh, one of his grad-student colleagues at Cal who has a high level of success in tutoring students in need of extra help and support in science and math. Josh responded promptly to my (multiple)emails, thoughtfully answered all of my questions, and helped us to come up with a plan to help our daughter on her way towards better grades. He is efficient, generous with his time, and from our experience, an incredibly nice person! He can be reached at jhshiode [at] berkeley.edu. Monika
2005 - 2009 Recommendations
Tutor for both Physics and Calculus
Oct 2009
My son is taking Physics and Calculus this year and is having a really hard time keeping up. He is usually a very good student, but this year has just been very difficult for him. Does anyone have recent experience with a tutor who is very ''professional'' and can teach both subjects? Concerned parent
Lizette Greybe (not sure of the spelling!) teaches both Calculus and Physics. She started helping our son with Calculus this year, but is now also doing Physics with him. She is excellent! Her number is 510-338-0103.
Had the same experience
My son, a senior in high school, loves the Bay Area Tutoring Center on Shattuck and Rose. http://www.bayareatutoringcenters.com/ Currently he is being tutored in physics and AP Stats. In previous years he has gone for Honors English, chemistry, and pre-calculus. He speaks highly of all of the tutors, and has referred many of his classmates there. I am a teacher myself, and have been really happy with his experience there.
Happy with Bay Area Tutoring Center
We used Connexion Tutoring last year for my son. He only needed a tutor for calculus but they also had tutors for physics. I don't know if Patrick McKenna is still available but he was excellent, patient, great at explaining, helped raised my son's grade from a C to an A. I think he could also tutor physics. The entire Connexion Tutoring operation was really efficient and we received a session report each week via email, something we had never had from a tutor before. Their website is http://connexiontutoring.com
chiliconmom
Chat Hull, Astronomy Department, UC Berkeley chat.hull [at] gmail.com
He's amazing! He's a former high school teacher, has great rapport with teens, makes good use of the hour, and is encouraging and clear in his explanations. We used him as a physics tutor (AP Physics at BHS for my daughter after she got behind 2nd Semester and stopped understanding what was taught) -- he brought her up to speed in no time! I'm sure he can also tutor calculus. He came to our house in North Berkeley but was willing to meet at a coffee shop or wherever was convenient for us.
Mom of BHS Grad who did well on AP Exam
My child had the opportunity to work with a great tutor, Karen Street, who helped him to catch up and pass his AP Physics class. We were already into the second semester when we discovered that he had fallen behind and was receiving failing grades. She worked with him weekly to help him catch up with late homework, exams and extra credit projects. She evaluated his situation and developed a plan that helped him progress as quickly as possible with flexibility and lots of encouragement built in. My son, in turn, became motivated to catch up, learn and pass his class. I highly recommend Karen, who is also a former Berkeley High physics teacher. Her email: karen_street [at] sbcglobal.net
Pam
Fortunately ,I heard about Classroom Matters through another family when our daughter entered her Sophomore year at BHS. She was struggling to organize her time and prioritize subjects in advance of testing. I arranged to have her meet once a week for English, Biology and Spanish help and a review of what was due, when and how much more studying needed to happen. She incorporated the tutoring and study skills into her routine with impressive results and I was incredibly relieved to have her look forward to sharing her concerns regularly with her tutor and getting the help she needed. In her junior year she needed additional tutoring for Math Analysis, Chemistry and the SAT 2s. Her GPA soared as a result of her tutoring at Classroom Matters.
Signed: Karen
July 2006
Paul Osborne, Paul The Tutor, is doing his School Readiness classes again this August. I have seen these classes do a wonderful job of getting students ready for math and science classes. Courses last one week, and he does a different course for each math level from pre- algebra to algebra 2 and for chemistry. He should have information about these classes on his website www.paulthetutor.com You can also reach him by email at paulthetutor[at]paulthetutor.com or by phone at 510.301.5302
Marta
AP Biology review session/tutor needed
April 2006
10th grader would like a couple of review sessions before the AP Biology test. Evenings or weekends.
If you are looking for a Biology Tutor, you should get in touch with Paul Osborne (Paul The Tutor). His undergraduate degree is in Biology, he has a masters in education from Harvard, and he has been tutoring for 15 years. You can learn more about him on his website at www.paulthetutor.com You can send him an email at paulthetutor[at]paulthetutor.com or give him a call at (510) 301-5302. Marta
The CCC at BHS has plenty of tutoring in science and math from Cal students. And it’s free.
Not a Cal student but I very highly recommend Megan Tvedt - megan.tvedt [at] gmail.com (megan[dot]tvedt[at]gmail[dot]com). My daughter (and a number of her friends) used Megan for math (algebra, geometry, calculus), chemistry, and physics from middle school through high school. Megan is not only an excellent scientist who thoroughly understands the material - she is also a superb teacher, who has the skills to explain concept topics in multiple ways and thus assist all kinds of students in reaching success. She is also incredibly patient, and a nice person.
I can recommend Oliver Miller. His help was transformative for my son, who is now using data science techniques in college.