Study Skills

Many parents recognize that their children struggle with study and organizational skills. With a glance at their school binders, parents can often see that organization is likely not a high priority at the moment. It can be frustrating and anxiety-provoking not to know if your child has all of the papers and notes that will be on tests or quizzes. Missed homework can constantly bring a student’s class grade down, while its completion should be an asset. At Lionheart Tutoring, we can help students master the art of organizing their binders and their notes. We will help bring the chaos back to order and set out a system that will keep it there. While tailoring our organization program, we consider your child’s unique situation in terms of class schedule and course load. Moreover, we can help students grasp the need and the skill of note taking. Rather than use bubble notes or other fads, we opt for more traditional approaches that can help students see the big picture down to the key detail. These notes also help students study by having ready-made prompts for review. When prompted, we can also work with parents to prepare a reward and consequence system that takes some of the drama and tension out of talking about school. In this way, students can know exactly what is expected of them and what will happen automatically if they do or do not follow through on expectations.

Biology

When students enter high school, they often take their first science course in the field of biology. This class offers students a wonderful portal into our world and how life exists in nature. On the other hand, students in freshman biology can find themselves in over their heads in terms of studying and keeping up with their classes. Biology requires a combination of memorization and understanding that challenges students who are coming from middle school. Here at Lionheart Tutoring, we can help students navigate this difficult, but rewarding course in terms of getting on top of their studies and preparing for major tests and quizzes. One of our favorite tasks is helping students divide large textbook chapters into manageable chunks and itemize them into study plans. We also can take students through difficult processes, like photosynthesis and diffusion, that involve many new scientific terms. Taking advantage of technology, we can show students how to use online resources for review and for organizing their notes into practice quizzes.

History

As George Orwell famously wrote in his novel 1984, “Those who control the present, control the past and those who control the past control the future.” History takes a student with no background knowledge and guides him or her through past events that explain our current society. It is a wonderful and important responsibility to pass along our history and cultural heritage to the next generations. We at Lionheart Tutoring love to share with our students the excitement of discovery as we travel through major historical events and milestones of civilization. In our history tutoring, we cover the history of America, Western Civilization, Ancient Civilization and other targeted topics that are commonly taught in school. We recognize and deeply appreciate all of the sacrifice and hard work that our ancestors did for us to live in such a free and prosperous country. We are honored to share the wonders of the past with students and to help them grow in their awareness of how our unique society developed. We also offer summer programs in history that can help students develop their reading and writing skills as they learn about exciting topics in history.

College Entrance Essay Advising

College entrance essays are a crucial component of a successful application to higher education. With their essays, students showcase their personalities and unique gifts to college admissions officers. This personal writing exercise helps colleges see more than just standardized test scores or GPA in order to connect with the actual student. Thus it is paramount that a student conveys him or herself clearly in writing. We are happy to brainstorm, plan, and edit college entrance essays at every step of the process. We can take students through the standard approaches and help students identify which process can serve their interests best. As competition heats up for college applications, we love to see students feel confident that their essays will stand out from the stack of hundreds of other applicants. Furthermore, many students have remarked that their experience writing such a targeted, concise essay has enhanced their writing abilities for longer papers in school.

Meet Our Tutors

I love seeing how students discover they can thrive in subjects they always dreaded. It’s wonderful to see the growth in their self-confidence with each session.

Dan Chinburg

Founder

Inspired by what he saw in South Korea as a Fulbright Teaching Fellow, Dan Chinburg began tutoring students on the Main Line in 2009. He graduated with a M.S.Ed. in Reading/Writing/Literacy from the University of Pennsylvania with a K-12 reading specialist certification and has a B.A. in English & World Literature from Pitzer College. Since his return to the states, he has taught over 110 students through word-of-mouth. He loves working with struggling students and advanced students alike. Always striving to get the best results, he has tutored Singapore Math at a charter school and has explored many different approaches to higher mathematics. Over the years, he has designed his own grammar, writing, and standardized test program to meet the demands of his students. He particularly enjoys the challenge of giving crash-courses in subjects before last-minute finals for new students.

It’s always fun to see the shock that parents have when they hear their children speak Chinese for the first time. They can’t believe their kids can learn so quickly!

Yuanyuan (Elizabeth) Zhang

Chinese Director / Tutor

Fluent in English and a native-speaker of Mandarin Chinese, Yuanyuan brings an incredible breadth of language training and linguistic expertise to her Chinese and ESL sessions. She graduated with a M.S.Ed. in TESOL from the University of Pennsylvania and has a B.A. in Business English. While in China, she taught classes of Chinese students of all levels in English at the prestigious private tutoring firm in Shanghai. She has developed the Chinese program of Lionheart Tutoring through her self-designed learning programs for students in grades PreK-12. She brings an energetic approach to Chinese instruction while incorporating games, iPad apps, songs, poems, and multimedia with her students. Parents have been delighted to find her as many private schools have embraced Chinese as a foreign language across the Main Line. Always dear to her heart, she loves working and developing her toddler program for young Chinese learners who are training their ears for the novel tones of Chinese.