Michael Chellman, Academic Coach
Arlington, VA
Arlington, VA
Academic coaching on study skills to help you learn more in less time. No more exhausting time wasting. Also tutoring in specific social science courses. AP US History specialist. Grades 7-12 and undergraduates. Being a purposeful learner is rare among students at a time when it’s increasingly valuable.
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What do you love most about your job?
Most students "do" their work: long hours memorizing, reading and re-reading passively, with information soon forgotten. My methods, I call the "Green Mind" approach, is about active methods to promote long-term learning, faster. More learning, less doing. It transforms you as a student.
What inspired you to start your own business?
Over 2000 remarkable student success stories as a teacher over 30 years.
Why should our clients choose you?
30 years teaching grades 8-12, BA Dartmouth, MA Columbia/NYU
"Focus on the grades, we win, we lose. Focus on the student, we win every time."
When Michael Chellman greets his students, the unusual exchange amazes observers. He asks, “Are you doing your work?” They respond, “I never do my work!” Pull the students aside and they explain: “I never DO my work because I LEARN my work.”
Michael Chellman is an award-winning teacher, most recently the 2020 University of Maryland Philip Merrill Outstanding Teacher-Mentor Award, given to 15 teachers across the U.S.
He has 30 years of remarkable success in a range of schools: public, independent, co-ed, single-gender. From tiny rural schools to one of the largest public systems in the U.S., in grades 8 through 12, Chellman has helped every type of student enjoy more learning, less doing, faster.
His view: “The worst advice is telling kids to ‘work harder.’ The Green Mind is about working differently, working better.”
Can you provide your services online or remotely? If so, please add details.
Yes--the video conferencing service you prefer. I have extensive experience with online learning. As a teacher, I successfully inspired as many as 18 students online at one time.
What changes have you made to keep your customers safe from Covid-19?
Relax and let me come to you. I'll use the very best N95 mask, physical distancing, and any other precautions that ease your mind for safe, effective one-on-one or small group tutoring.
Advanced Placement U.S. History Exam Prep
My course specialty. The hardest AP exam becomes the easiest. Bonus: Not only will you be superbly prepared for the AP USH exam, my learning tactics will help you learn more in less time long after the Exam is over.
Learn the M.A.V.E.R.I.C.K. Way
Study after study shows most students “do” their work instead of “learn” their work. “Doing” is “Gray Effort”—low-thinking memorization, passive reading and re-reading, often while distracted, with information soon forgotten. MAVERICK is “Green Effort”—purposeful, targeted actions for long-term learning, faster. Even top students often believe the price of good grades is exhausting hours, simply working harder. There’s a better way.
The MAVERICK Way is about working differently, working better. The MAVERICK Mindview: Anyone can improve when using an approach that fits how they learn best. I’ll help you find your own “Way”: the type of student you want to become and the specific actions you choose to get there. You’ll be set for any course, any challenge, from now through college—and beyond.
19 Intense Focus Methods
Everyone tells students, “You need to concentrate!” Rarely are you told how, exactly. Here are proven methods students are desperate to hear, chosen from hundreds of options. They will become your distraction shield so you can respond to any diversion, interference, or inattention with a plan. You will assert, “Focused is what I choose to become.”
Strength from Stress
What do you think of stress? Like most people, you’d probably say, “It’s harmful—the enemy.”
Wrong! New studies show that stress is harmful when you believe it’s harmful. Stress can actually help you learn and make you more confident. The best way to manage stress isn’t to reduce or avoid it, but rather to rethink and even embrace it.
My "Green Mind" methods help you get better with stress, to gain strength from stress. Imagine that! Prepare to think differently, to use stress as your ally when confronting any challenge.
Self-Awareness: Seeing Yourself Clearly
A cornerstone of the Green Mind is becoming your own best teacher through self-awareness. That means recognizing what I call “Gray Mind” negative thoughts that block your learning. Awareness means using the lessons of past experiences, both successes and setbacks, to move ahead. It means noticing when your effort becomes empty time-wasting.
Self-awareness is the first step in seeing your actions without judgment, simply as they are.
Using my proven tactics, awareness becomes a light on your path forward. Tactics “Green Self-Talk” and seeing setbacks as “Painful Gifts” (as the Virginia men’s basketball team did to win the national title).
There’s no progress without self-awareness. You can get out of your own way and stop randomly reacting to what happens to you. It’s time for you, like an athlete, to become your own best trainer.
Active Learning Tutoring in Social Studies Courses
History, government, social sciences: Learn more in less time. Skills to last a lifetime.
One-on-one or groups of 2 or more students
Relax-I'll come to you. In-person at your home or another location. Alternative: Online.
