Grade Levels
High School
Tutoring Specialties
Gifted/Advanced population
Bio
My name is Mr. Steve Howard. I am a mathematics instructor and I am looking forward to sharing the beauty of this discipline with you. When we learn mathematics, it is important to emphasize deep conceptual understanding over memorization. Don't misunderstand, technique is important and is learned through practice, but technique without conceptual understanding is just learning to "jump through hoops". In order to fully understand mathematics, we need to converse in the mathematics language. This will be part of my strategy to get students to fully understand concepts, along with opportunities to put it into practice through problem solving. I will meet every student where they are and guide them to where they want to be. Sometimes that will be helping with concept. Sometimes technique. Sometimes both. I look forward to getting to know you. We will talk about our hobbies, what brings us joy ... and yes ... Mathematics!
Teacher Specialization
I have been an educator for 38 years. My undergraduate degree (B.S.) is from the University of Lynchburg in Mathematics and Computer Science. My graduate degree (M.A.) is from Wake Forest University in Mathematics. The first 5 years of my career I was a professor at a college. I then spent 33 years at a regional school for gifted high school students in math, science and technology, where I taught mathematics and computer science and was responsible for all computing needs and computer networking. Out of necessity, my online teaching experience was a surprise, born out of the Covid years. When schools closed down on a Friday, we were up and running virtually on Monday. For 6 months we turned in-person learning into virtual learning. It wasn't easy, but we learned what worked and what didn't. We did totally virtual or part virtual/part on campus simultaneously for 18 months, giving me quite the range of experiences in virtual learning.
Courses
AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC, AP Computer Science A, AP Computer Science Principles, AP Pre-Calculus, Calculus, College Math, Pre-Calculus/Trigonometry
