Testimonials
“I’m taking an Algebra II and Trigonometry tutoring class. I had a little trepidation on having to get help in this subject, but after the first five minutes of meeting Mr. Grizzard my “fear” (so-to-speak) vanished. The one-on-one hitunelp, plus the way he explains the material better than my teachers have has tremendously helped me in improving my grade. I recommended him to anyone who is not math inclined.” -Zoe, now a BHS grad
“Phil tutored me in Algebra II just a few days before my final. I’m pretty sure that without him, I would have failed it. He taught me efficiently and went at my pace, explaining things to me in a way that was easily understandable. He even made the process fun with his witty humor. I would recommend him to anyone.” -Remmy Ruiz, now a high school grad
R. Philip Grizzard, Ph.D.
Education
- 1998 B.S. Mathematics & Math Education, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- 2000 M.S. Mathematics, Illinois State University
- Taught: College Algebra Math 119 and Finite Math 120.
- 2007 Ph.D. Mathematics, University of Illinois at Chicago
- Taught: Calculus I & II, Differential Equations, Linear Algebra
Certification and Professional Organizations
- State of Illinois 6-12 Education certified
- Mathematical Association of America
- National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
- American Mathematical Society, Life Member
Recent academic work experience
- 2011-present Tutor for Ph.G. Math Tutoring, Bloomington-Normal, IL.
- 2011-present Manager of Ph.G. Tutoring, Tucson, Arizona
- 2010-2011 Founder and tutor for Ph.G. Tutoring, Tucson, Arizona
- 2010 Instructor, Pima Community College, Tucson, Arizona
- 2007-2010 Teaching Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Arizona
- Taught: Math in Modern Society, Mathematics for Elementary School Teachers, College Algebra, PreCalculus, Calculus, Linear Algebra
I love tutoring math. I am qualified to tutor for any math course from middle school up through college graduation level. This includes the full calculus sequence and well beyond, plus math-heavy courses like statistics. At the very advanced college math majors upper class level, there are some courses that I might be less comfortable tutoring, but contact me and we can discuss it.
Tutoring high level material is fun. But unlike many Ph.D. Mathematicians, I greatly enjoy working with students struggling even with basic material. Now with over a decade of experience as a professional tutor, I have worked with hundreds of students and I’ve learned how to find a student’s level — whether having issues on how to prove a vector space, or issues on how to add fractions — and bring them along from there.
On the personal side, I grew up in Normal and graduated from Normal Community High School in 1994. Later that summer I met my wife Christine, and we got married in 1999.
In 2015, we had our oldest son Zach. Then in 2024, we adopted Aubrie and Miah – and all three of them are within 18 months of each other! It’s a busy household, but well worth it.
In addition to tutoring, I am also the part-time campus minister for AGAPE/Judson Fellowship at ISU. As for hobbies, I’m a big sports fan, particularly MLB baseball, WNBA basketball, and PWHL hockey. I enjoy writing, and I am an occasional columnist for the Pantagraph newspaper
When I retire, I would like to… do some math tutoring. 🙂
Note for precollege students
I have professionally tutored essentially every math course offered at the middle- or high-school level. I’ve worked with students from Normal Community, Normal West, Bloomington, Central Catholic, U High, Olympia, Lexington, Ridgeview, LeRoy, Tri-Valley, Prairie Central, and a number of middle schools as well. In addition, I have tutored students in preparation for standardized exams:
- PSAT Prep
- ACT Prep
- SAT Prep
- GED Prep
Note for college students
I am qualified to tutor virtually any undergraduate math course. I have worked with students from Illinois State, Illinois Wesleyan, Heartland, Lincoln, as well as several online academic programs. I have prepared students for standardized tests: the GRE, the GRE math subject test, and the first actuarial exam. Specifically for ISU students, below are the ISU math courses for which I have actually tutored professionally already. (Note that my qualifications are not limited to this list.)
- Math 104 – Intermediate Algebra
- Math 108 – Trigonometry
- Math 113 – Elements of Mathematical Reasoning
- Math 119 – College Algebra
- Math 120 – Finite Math
- Math 121 – Applied Calculus
- Math 130 – Dimensions of Numerical Reasoning
- Math 144 – Precalculus
- Math 145 – Calculus I
- Math 146 – Calculus II
- Math 147 – Calculus III
- Math 150 – Fundamentals of Statistical Reasoning
- Math 152 – Structure of Number Systems II
- Math 160 – Elementary Discrete Mathematics
- Math 175 – Elementary Linear Algebra
- Math 201 – Teaching Mathematics in the Elementary School
- Math 210 – Symbolic Logic
- Math 236 – Elementary Abstract Algebra
- Math 260 – Discrete Mathematics
- Math 336 – Advanced Abstract Algebra
- MQM 100 – Statistical Reasoning
- Preparation for ALEKS exam
- Preparation for Content Exam
- Preparation for Test of Academic Proficiency (TAP)
last updated on December 10th, 2016
