Lucia
Certified Tutor
Undergraduate Degree: Florida International University - Current Undergrad, Sociology
Outdoors, camping, nature, animals, comic books.
College English
Comparative Literature
High School English
Social Sciences
What is your teaching philosophy?
It is my goal to help provide the tools students need in order to excel in their academic pursuits. I believe that by getting students excited about their coursework, you instill a sense a sense of curiosity about the world around us.
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
Typically, I like to ask them what they feel they could improve on and where they feel they excel given a particular subject matter. After getting a feel for what I need to focus on by giving them a series of test questions, I like to jump right into the session.
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
By giving them the tools they need in order to solve problems through critical thinking. Instilling good study habits in students is essential to their success.
How would you help a student stay motivated?
Demeanor is everything; if a student can sense that you are bored, they in turn will be bored.
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
Generally, we would break down the concept into parts and examine which areas they are having trouble understanding. Once you clarify the parts, the student has a better understanding of the whole.
How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?
Practice, practice, practice. As someone who has personal experience with struggling with reading comprehension as a child, I can attest to the importance of practice. Having a reward system in place for every hour reading is an invaluable source of motivation.
What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?
Figuring out the student's learning style can be a useful way of determining what methods would work best when teaching new material.
How would you help a student get excited/engaged with a subject that they are struggling in?
You have to give them hope. There is nothing that cannot be mastered with enough work and dedication. It is important to help them understand that they are perfectly capable, they only have to practice.
What techniques would you use to be sure that a student understands the material?
I would give them a series of test questions, similar to those that I asked in our initial sessions, to see how far they have come in their comprehension, along with quizzes.
How do you build a student's confidence in a subject?
Praise is crucial to a student's confidence. Whether they are doing well at a given moment or not, maintaining a positive demeanor can deter them from being discouraged.
How do you evaluate a student's needs?
By assessing what their strengths and weaknesses are given a particular subject, you can gauge what you will need to concentrate on as an instructor. This involves verbal communication and assessments.
How do you adapt your tutoring to the student's needs?
You determine a student's learning style and adapt your lesson to fit their needs.
What types of materials do you typically use during a tutoring session?
Because of the subject matters I focus on, most of the material is written works (i.e. books, essays, etc.).