Our Clients
Our tutors design personalized programs for all students. This individual centered approach has led to many successful encounters with students and parents across the disciplinary spectrum. Below you'll find a few example case studies, and comments from our clients. Each situation is unique, and so what worked for these students will not be appropriate for all students. Whatever your educational dilemma, we're here to listen and to help.
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Case Study 1: Math is hard!
Some of our students come to us because they're struggling to keep up in Math or Science class. Often, these students will have developed coping strategies (like memorizing) to help them stay afloat, but eventually, the conceptual nature of these courses overwhelms them. The first thing we do when we meet a student like this is to find a way of communicating the concepts that works for that student: some students need graphs and visuals; others simply need to slow down and take the information in more slowly; still other students need to see how the procedures they've learned (the hows of math) relate to the underlying ideas (the whys of math). Once we've uncovered the right communication strategy, students usually find that they understand the material better, class is less stressful and easier to understand, homework is more doable and they don't dread math as much as they did.
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Case Study 2: Life is hard!
Everyone deals with depression, anxiety, lack of motivation, and struggles to find meaning at some point in their life. Often, these battles can take their toll on academic success. In a lot of these cases, students may have difficulty seeing what the point of school is, and may have trouble making the connection between the work they do in school and the rest of their lives. We understand and respect this concern: it is hard to see the point of it all. When we begin our work with students who are struggling with social and emotional issues we focus on finding immediate goals that are relevant to them. As we work towards these goals, we're careful to emphasize the beauty and power of the ideas and academic content. We bring in supplemental material that inspires, and we find a hook - a place of interest - that will turn that student on to the ideas. As well, we take a hard look at how the student's ways of working might be exacerbating the social and emotional issues. It's this combination of deep, existential understanding, practical content goals, and organizational support that help us affect Massive Change in the lives of these students.
Case Study 3: I am TOTALLY disorganized!
Most productive adults know the value of good organizational skills. Life as a teenager can feel fast, chaotic and out of control. We help students to set a structure on their lives that will contain their diverse tasks and goals. We teach students how to manage their time, organize their binder, prioritize their homework, develop good study skills, and get things done. Rather than impose a defined system on the student, we allow them to help to develop the system so that is has their very own signature, and will be something that is more likely to work for them and stick around. We try to teach our students the mantra that we all believe: Structure sets you free!
Case Study 4: I am bored !
Many student who walk through our doors are bored in school. With class sizes as large as they are nowadays, it is easy for students to become disengaged in their class. We cater enrichment programs to each student's areas of interest and their preferred way of learning. The one-on-one tutoring environment allows us to go with the pace of the student's conceptual understanding and adjust and adapt the lesson on the spot. This provides the student with a completely catered program that moves at the same speed as their brain, thus helping them to develop advanced cognitive skills and increase confidence and interest levels. Come and talk to us about developing a program for your child. We can teach pretty much anything: from string theory to graphic novel study, to small engine building or computer skills. What do you want to learn?
Our Core Beliefs
Brainboost's has three core beliefs that we apply when students and parents arrive with educational dilemmas:
- Tutoring excellence requires that students and parents unpack the "you-specific" factors that influence how children and teens perform in school. There is no single-bullet theory that will give the answer.
- We understand that educational issues stem from a mix of social, cognitive and emotional influences, making them complex and not explainable through one paradigm or theory.
- The process of solving your educational issue requires that we a) hypothesize about what is driving the educational dilemma; b) test these hypotheses by trying to solve the issue using the paradigm that seems most helpful; and, c) update these hypotheses as new information comes in.
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Our Home: The HUB
Put simply: The HUB rocks! We call The HUB "A Place for Learning and Doing," and that's what it is: a place where students learn new things about the world, and apply this knowledge to their own day-to-day work. The HUB is the people who populate it: students, teachers, parents, BrainBoost team members, and community members.
The HUB has a few features that make it a great place to work:
Resource Library: Our resource library contains a plethora of print and electronic resources that can be used by students, tutors and parents. You'll find a hand-selected set of novels, non-fiction on the most 'out-there' topics we can find, as well as tons of educational videos, games, worksheets and books. Come in and take a look.
Nooks: If you need a quiet place to work, the HUB is for you! Our tutoring takes place in private, quiet offices; and, if you're working on homework, you'll find our Homework Help room has all the supplies and space you need.
A Great Vibe: We enjoy our students. It's our mission that students find their visits challenging and interesting, and that they have meaningful interactions with people of all types. If you come a few minutes early for a session, have a seat on our comfy couch, enjoy a cup of tea or coffee from our coffee bar, put your feet up and read for a few minutes. If you've got something to say, then say it! We're always looking for students to add decor, post their thoughts on our blog, or generally contribute to our community.
Our Team
BrainBoost employs more than 18 tutors who range from certified teachers to homework helpers with relevant university degrees. Tutors are trained on site and meet regularly to discuss student progress, read relevant research from the cognitive sciences, and share their knowledge and experiences with each other.
Matt Giammarino
Matt Giammarino is the founder and a director and case-manager at BrainBoost. Matt's specialties include math education and unpacking how social and emotional situations impact learning outcomes (though he is a sucker for a good idea no matter what the discipline). He has presented his research on how context affects reading performance at a national education conference, and has spoken at local conferences about making math education more relevant and engaging. Matt's thesis attempts to clarify the concept of Number Sense - a nerd-word for our intuitive grasp of mathematics - by bridging studies from neuroimaging studies, cognitive science, and learning disabilities research. This research will help educators discover what it means to be "naturally good at math," and will (hopefully) lead to better assessment and treatment of math disabilities. Check out Matt's blog to learn more about his research.
Jessy Giammarino
Jessy Giammarino is a director and a case-manager at BrainBoost. With a B.A. in English from the University of British Columbia and 3 years experience of teaching yoga, Jessy specializes in literacy, and how stress and anxiety affect a student's ability to learn. Jessy believes strongly in the importance of organization and structure to help students gain control of their academic life and mental sanity. She is currently developing a company-wide organizational system, with the help of our tutors, that assists students in implementing a daily system of managing their never-ending things-to-do. As well, Jessy believes strongly in the power of the breath, and tries to teach all her students how to use their breath to access a calm and clear mind. Jessy respects and cherishes her student's differences and strives to be a strong and calming force in their lives, in order to help them achieve their great potential.
Morie Ford
As well as being a language arts teacher, Morie is a true advocate for children’s literacy. She has over ten years experience working with children with learning challenges in the area of English Language Arts. Morie has a Special Education degree from the University of Alberta. She has a contagious enthusiasm for reading and writing and does what it takes to create engagement with kids. In her spare time Morie actively promotes literacy – most recently for OMID orphanage in Afghanistan and URPI orphanage in Peru. Exciting hockey games, gourmet meals and walks with her family and friends help keep Morie balanced.
Chris Griffith
Chris is a teacher from the UK tutoring Social Studies and English at BrainBoost. His specialties are political geography and 20th Century history. When Chris isn't working, he enjoys playing soccer and ultimate frisbee, jamming on the guitar with friends or reading philosophy.
Kent English
Kent grew up in
rural Manitoba and received a B.Sc.H. in mathematics from Queen's University. He
spent four years teaching English in Japan to an eclectic range of students.
Experience has taught him that no two people learn in the same way, and so he
strives to find the approach that works best for each particular person. He
strongly believes that math should not be scary. Some of his interests
are Japanese language and literature, creative writing, psychology,
physics, and all kinds of math (particularly anything with matrices).
Mark Giammarino
Mark
Giammarino is currently studying philosophy and
psychology in his third year at UBC. At BrainBoost, Mark
tutors a variety of
subjects, with a focus mainly on math, and he also leads The Workspace
Student's physical activity class on Friday afternoons. One reason Mark
enjoys tutoring is that he gets to learn the many ways in which
material can be learned, which he feels, allows his mind to be more
adaptive. Some of Mark's personal interests are watching and playing a
variety of sports, learning about anything, listening to a wide array
of music ranging from Radiohead to NaS , and cooking from the many
cuisines of the world.
Cecile Van Niekerk
Cecile grew up in beautiful Victoria BC, and moved to Vancouver to complete her BSc in Math, with a minor in English literature at UBC. When she's not working she is probably out running or walking on the beach, practicing her golf swing at the range, planning another trip overseas or enjoying time out with friends. She was inspired to study math and physics by an encouraging high school teacher and now hopes every young person can also become confident with her own math ability.
Marina Khenson
Marina grew up in California and only recently moved to Vancouver. She's currently finishing up her Bachelors degree in Psychology at UBC, and plans to go back for a Master of Education after she's done. She tutors math, English, Spanish, and science at BrainBoost. She loves to teach, and will always have a soft spot for making math enjoyable for kids who think they hate it. She also experiments with cooking, does ballroom and Latin dance, enjoys jogging, and loves to read.
Mark Roberts
Mark tutors math and sciences at Brainboost. Before BrainBoost he worked as a math tutor in the Mathematics Activity Centre at Langara College. He is currently finishing an undergraduate degree in biochemistry at UBC. When he's not tutoring or doing schoolwork, he can be found rock climbing in Squamish, cycling in Pacific Spirit National Park, catching a live show downtown, playing chess in a coffee shop or getting a tan at Spanish Banks. He also enjoys reading, gardening, knitting and vegetarian cooking.
Mike MacKenzie
Mike MacKenzie grew up in the magnificence of the prairies. He completed his BSc in Physical Geography from the University of Saskatchewan, focused on Photography at the Alberta College of Art and Design in Calgary, and is currently getting his Bachelor of Education from UBC. He has just returned from South Korea where he spent 3 and a half years engaging students in English. Mike’s interests include travelling, being outdoors, using computers, and eating new and bizarre food from different cultures.
Matthew Harris
Matthew Harris is currently working towards his BsCH in Mathematics and is in his 4th year at UBC. He grew up in Toronto and has been living in Vancouver now for 2 years. He enjoys tutoring mathematics and helping students grasp seemingly difficult concepts. Previously, Matthew was tutoring at a downtown east side high school. His hobbies include guitar, banjo, snowboarding and golf. He also enjoys random, useless but still interesting facts about anything. Oh, one more thing: he's a big science fiction fan.
Sara Ferguson
Sara Ferguson grew up in Northwestern Ontario, and she is currently completing the practicum portion of her B.Ed in Elementary Education. Previously, she worked towards a degree in Zoology at the University of Guelph and then graduated with a BSc from UBC, focusing on life and earth sciences. During middle and high school she spent many summers attending, and then volunteering at, a field sciences camp in the badlands of Alberta; highlights included living in teepees and digging up dinosaurs. She enjoys music, live concerts, cooking, and being outdoors, and can’t wait to finish school so she can do some travelling. Over the years she has worked with many different students and believes that they are usually more capable and intelligent than we give them credit for. She strives to give her students the tools and opportunities to let them shine in their own way.
Sari van Delft
Sari van Delft just recently moved to Vancouver from a small town in Ontario. She is here starting her Masters in Special Education at UBC. Sari has been working with children for years and loves watching and being a part of the learning process in young minds. When Sari's not at work, she is likely reading in a coffee shop, attempting something new in the kitchen or out enjoying the beauty of Vancouver.
Liang Chen
Liang Chen was born in Beijing, grew up in Montreal and went to school in Ottawa where he received degrees in Mathematics and Computer Science. His passion for math and algorithms is only trumped by his desire to help others to achieve their aspirations. Liang has been tutoring/teaching for nearly seven years, including helping students with Learning Disabilities. His interests include gaming (pc or otherwise), mythology (especially of Greek and Roman), history (European from antiquity to high middle ages), snowboarding, canines, ballroom dancing (tango), opera, theatre, classical music.
Alison Cole
Alison grew up on North Vancouver Island and moved to Vancouver after high school to pursue what has become a never ending journey of educational studies. Highlights include a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of British Columbia with a double major in French and Music; a Diploma of Technology from BCIT in Television Broadcast Communications, and a Certificate in Multimedia and Web Development from UBC, which is currently in progress. Alison has taken her passion for education and the la belle langue to tutoring French at Brainboost, and enjoys the variety of teaching kids from all different levels and backgrounds. While not immersed in teaching French, Alison keeps very busy with many other activities, such as volunteering for charities, serving as a military musician, running her own graphic design business, cooking great vegan food, traveling, and sleeping every now and then.
Mark van Eijk
Mark is a recent import from Regina, Saskatchewan where he grew up and started his university science education. Since then he has completed his bachelors degree in biochemistry at UBC and now tutors biology and chemistry with Brainboost in the hopes of instilling his own enthusiasm for science in his students. He has also completed his training as a paramedic and on some days can be found cruising the streets of Vancouver with the BC Ambulance Service. Mark got his first taste of teaching as a snowboard instructor and enjoys all kinds of outdoor activities, cooking, and listening to and playing music.