Skills development beyond the classroom

I have over 13 years of interdisciplinary private tutoring experience, working one-on-one, as well as in small groups, with middle school, high school, and college students, and, most recently since 2019, with graduate students (master’s and doctoral).

Tutoring is a personal journey that involves sharing (at least some) vulnerability and building trust; feeling some basic level of comfort with me is important to our tutoring relationship. If you are interested in private tutoring and academic coaching / mentoring services that I provide directly, please reach out by completing the form below. After reviewing your information, I will contact you to set up a 30-min complimentary consultation for you to share more about your specific academic needs, ask any questions, and get a feel for fit / chemistry.

At this time, I offer remote / virtual tutoring services exclusively. We can connect through an online interface of your choice (e.g., Zoom, Google Meet, Skype, FaceTime) and communicate through a variety of digital collaboration tools. In the near future, I plan to offer in-person services in the Boston area.

My teaching and tutoring background

While finishing up my Ed.D. degree at Teachers College (TC), I am working as a researcher at the Digital Futures Institute and partnering with the Social Science Research Council on a public scholarship project. At the same time, I work with master’s and doctoral students as an adjunct instructor at New York University’s (NYU) professional writing program, teaching a course on social science research writing. Previously, I also served as a writing instructor at Marymount Manhattan College (2 years), a part-time instructor in the Department of Curriculum and Teaching at TC (3 years), a writing consultant at the Graduate Writing Center at TC (3 years; see two webinar series I produced), and an editorial and digital publishing associate at Teachers College Record (the oldest education journal in the U.S.; my projects were centered on supporting the learning and increasing the participation of emerging and early career scholars in the journal).

Before I started my doctoral program in education, I taught biology and chemistry at a public high school in Connecticut for five years. Prior to that, I worked as a teaching assistant in a biochemistry course for majors, and was a post-baccalaureate research fellow in a biochemistry lab. During my undergraduate years at Wellesley College, I worked as a teaching assistant / department tutor across a range of subject areas: German, Spanish, Art History, Chemistry, Genetics, and Biology. What can I say? I love learning—deeply and widely.

My teaching and tutoring philosophy

I see myself as a lifelong learner and take on a stance of co-traveler when working with clients. My aim is to inspire a love of learning in students, to support them in finding joy in their academic pursuits, and to strive towards independence when faced with learning challenges. My approach to working with all clients, regardless of their age / grade level, is to begin by fostering a relationship built on trust and mutual respect. I value teaching the whole individual, not just the academic student. This necessitates a deeper understanding of the individual's unique strengths and abilities, fears and aspirations, interests and perspectives, personal history and lived experiences as learners. Moreover, this also means I take seriously my relationship with a learner’s support network, both inside and outside of the home. Given my philosophy, it should not come as a surprise that most of my tutoring relationships have been long-term, lasting months if not years. I work with individuals who are committed to achieving their goal(s) and this commitment goes both ways. As your tutor, I will advocate strongly for you and your learning growth.

My teaching and tutoring areas of expertise

I provide subject-specific tutoring (e.g., biology, chemistry, science, writing), as well as trans/interdisciplinary academic skills development (e.g., researching, reading, writing, note-taking, planning, organizing, meta-learning/meta-cognition, executive function support) and, occasionally, college / career prep services as it makes sense.

At the graduate level, I support clients with the different phases of academic writing (brainstorming, organizing, outlining, drafting, revising, polishing, reference formatting); writing career documents (personal statements, cover letters, CVs and resumes); writing for publication (including copyediting and formatting support), and qualitative research support (including use of certain software like Zotero, NVivo, and Qualtrics).

For short-term goals and time-bound projects, I am also available for private consultations on a case-by-case basis.

My teaching and tutoring client base

Most recently, I have worked with students attending Stuyvesant, Grace Church, Trinity, Quad Prep, and St. Bernard’s. Additionally, I have provided academic, manuscript, multimodal, and research writing supports to master’s students, doctoral students, and recent graduates from Teachers College, Columbia University and New York University.

Let me know if and how I can help you (or your child, if you are a parent/guardian) engage your individual brilliance and cultivate a love of learning and enduring scholarship.

Catherine’s curriculum vitae
Catherine’s LinkedIn profile
Catherine’s sample writing and recent publications (1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6)
A story about Catherine on the Teachers College website
A story Catherine contributed to on youth culture on TikTok