Tutoring

Natalie is also an experienced tutor of mathematics, academic and creative writing, and foreign languages (French and Italian). She tutored mathematics for 2 and a half years as an official tutor of the Johns Hopkins Learning Den, as well as academic writing as a Graduate Fellow in the Princeton Writing Center. She has also held managerial positions in both organizations, having trained and monitored tutors as a Tutor Mentor at Johns Hopkins as well as creating tailored group workshops as an Independent Work Mentor at the Princeton Writing Center.

Below, please find some official (anonymized) student feedback on Natalie’s tutoring activities:

2016-2018, Princeton Writing Center

  • Just met her, and I love her! Made me very excited about my essay
  • She made a lot of suggestions on how I could add to my work and asked me questions that helped me realize the gaps in my work and how to fill them
  • Natalie did a great job of helping me identify the discreet elements of my paper which I can use to restructure it. She was supportive, positive, and encouraging, while being thorough and reading with a helpful, critical eye.
  • Natalie helped me refine my thesis using the examples in the texts that I had found. I thought it was helpful that she helped me mold my thesis to my evidence, rather than the other way around. This meant that I did not have to completely change my essay.
  • I found the essay x-ray exercise particularly helpful, and I greatly benefitted from having to respond to a reader’s questions and articulate my thoughts aloud. I began to recognize the overall structure of my essay, and I gained a better understanding of my paragraphs’ functions.
  • Natalie was amazing! She read through my full draft of my JP helped me condense some repetitive areas and awkward phrasings that I had missed. She was also very helpful with pointing out areas that needed clarification. It was a bonus that she knew french, since the paper is about the French empire.
  • Natalie helped me go from not having an argument to almost nailing a thesis. She guided me in some directions and helped me explore them without spoon feeding me or forcing upon me her ideas.
  • Natalie is amazing!! I loved writing my paragraphs on postits and sticking them on the board
  • following up a previous meeting, Natalie helped me this time to reformulate my development and argumentation in a shorter way, and to create a clear argument at the beginning of the text. My intro and conclusion are now clear, and the development fits well in. it was very useful, she used post-it and x ray reading, which helped me a lot to look at my document in a different way
  • she offered practical strategies to make my arguments strong and clear
  • The patience and expertise of Natalie to write and to read academically [was particularly helpful]
  • Natalie helped me sift through several weeks of research and develop the beginnings of an argument
  • Natalie is wonderful, she not only told me to create descriptive sentences that were broad yet precise, she helped me restructure my proposal, and she had great advice. she clearly has experience writing research proposal, which I don’t really have so far I also had full 4 pages when the document is 3-page max and she has help me to reach the maximum pages allowed without leaving important ideas on the way

2009-2011, Johns Hopkins Learning Den

  • Natalie Berkman has to be the best tutor for Fall 2009. She has been an extensive help in calculus, and I have regularly gone to her sessions/met with her outside. Without a doubt, she is enthusiastic and extremely knowledgeable about the subject; never once have I encountered a problem she could not aide me in. Her astute nature is only exemplified by her willingness to help; she clearly and concisely breaks down concepts for ease of understanding. I truly believe she deserves this award for her excellent work.
  • Responsible. Reliable. Helpful prepared
  • She tutored me for calc II on a weekly basis.  I could tell she knew exactly what she was doing, and she always had extra problems and new ways to solve the problems we already had.  She was always encouraging.  If I didn’t go to her tutoring session every week, I probably would have failed the class.
  • Natalie Berkman did an amazing job. She was thorough and explained concepts such that we were able to understand.
  • Natalie Berkman is the best Calculus tutor! She explains concept in a way that is easy to understand. While other tutors take a long time to explain the same things but in a way that is hard to understand. She makes calculus seems so easy and clearly knows her stuff. She seems to have a passion for math, unlike other tutors, which also motivates me to work harder. I only wished I found out about her earlier (before my 1st mid-term) because if I had I would probably have an A+ in my class now. She is the best tutor I have had a chance to interact with in the Learning Den. Unlike the other tutors she makes the material easy to understand and in a sense fun. If there is some type of Tutoring Award, please give it to Natalie. She really deserves it!