How to become a math superstar
Math is hard. It doesn’t matter whether you’re learning fractions, studying for a calculus test or doing sports data science.
My name is Ed Feng, and I can help. My utility does not come from having a Ph.D. from Stanford in Chemical Engineering. It comes from my desire to make math more relevant and understandable to everyone.
I’ve spent the last decade of my life using sports as a motivation to explain math. On my site The Power Rank, I explain linear regression through pictures and why you should not enter a large March Madness pool.
In addition, I serve as a volunteer math teacher at Summers-Knoll, a progressive school in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Both of these endeavors show my passion for making math more relevant and understandable.
For my tutoring service, these ideas apply on the individual level. Let me explain.
Math needs context
Up until college, I had done well in math. However, I had problems with differential equations during my freshman year at Rice. It did not come natural to me. In addition, I didn’t see the point in learning it.
Later, as a chemical engineering major, I started to get difficult homework problems. These required solving for 5 variables based on 5 equations, an arduous task to do by hand.
However, I had learned a more simple way to solve for these variables in my math class. All of sudden, math had context. In this case, math helped me solve a problem.
This cycle repeated itself a year later. As a sophomore, I struggled with thermodynamics and physical chemistry. What was the point of all these state functions?
A year later, an inspiring professor showed how thermodynamics laid a foundation for the molecular understanding of matter. You need entropy and free energy to understand the phase transition from liquid to gas and how polymers self assemble into plastics. I ended up doing my Ph.D. thesis at Stanford on the topic.
My approach to tutoring starts with understanding the human being. What worldly phenomena spark an interest?
Based on this knowledge, I can show a student how math fits into his/her/their world. This leads to motivation, an essential item missing from all math classes I ever took.
Understanding to crush the test
With some motivation, it’s time to understand math. To do this, I use a visual approach.
As an example, consider that 3 x 2 = 2 x 3. An old fart math teacher might lecture about the… (cue up teacher voice from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off) commutative property of multiplication. However, a simple picture shows the truth behind this statement.
Multiplication means counting the squares in each rectangle. The left rectangle means that 3 x 2 = 6. The two rectangles have the same number of squares. The commutative property can be shown by rotating a rectangle.
Math is inherently visual. In doing my Ph.D. research, I would think of images, either in my head or on paper. It shouldn’t be different for any student.
With the big picture in mind, we can dig into the details of solving problems. This is never easy, even for experts. Repetition is the key to success, and I walk students through enough practice problems until it becomes routine.
Get started now
Math doesn’t have to suck. In my mind, math is art whose beauty gets smeared by our educational system. It only adds to the fun that math can solve problems like how to win your March Madness pool.
My approaching to math fluency includes 3 items:
Provide motivation based on individual interests
Understanding through pictures
Practice to get the right answer
School typically only provides the third item.
While math often gives students the most trouble, I can also tutor a wide range of subjects:
physics
chemistry
sports data science
computer programming
My rate is $99 per hour. For now, all sessions will be remote.
My approach will not work for every student. If you’re not happy with the service for whatever reason after two hours, I will give you a full refund.