David
Certified Tutor
Undergraduate Degree: Colorado College - Bachelors, International Political Economy
Graduate Degree: Pepperdine University - Masters, Master of Public Policy
SAT Verbal: 760
GRE Verbal: 167
History, Hiking, Historical Sites, Video Games, Broncos fan.
AP Economics
AP US History
Business
College Economics
College English
College Level American History
High School Business
High School Economics
High School English
High School Level American History
Homework Support
IB Economics
Macroeconomics
Other
Political Science
Quantitative Reasoning
Social Sciences
Study Skills
Study Skills and Organization
Summer
What is your teaching philosophy?
Every student has different interests, needs, and abilities. As a teacher it is my job to identify these and tailor my presentation and style to engage my students and make them want to learn.
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
My first session will always be about the student: What are their interests? Where are their struggles? What have they tried before and how did it work? Once I understand what brought students to me, I will ask them to show me how they work and how they respond to questions. From there I will discuss how the student and I can address their struggles and move forward.
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
The key is to make the student want to learn more. To do this, a teacher must encourage curiosity. This is achieved by giving the student enough information to instruct them, but leaving enough to the student to make them investigate for themselves.
How would you help a student stay motivated?
In my experience most unmotivated students lack confidence in their abilities. To overcome this, a tutor should show the student that they already do know the material, they just don't believe that they do.
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
Ask them to explain to me what they understand. Once I understand that, I can present the remaining material so it builds from what they already know.
How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?
Reading is a skill, and to improve any skill requires practice. The best practice occurs when the student wants to practice. Challenging the student with interesting material that they want to read gives them the drive to practice reading to overcome the struggle.
What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?
At the beginning it is critical to establish a connection with the student and learn where they're coming from, what their difficulties and strengths are and what they have tried in the past. Once I know what the student already knows and what hasn't worked I can tailor the material to those needs.
How would you help a student get excited/engaged with a subject that they are struggling in?
Make it personal to them. If I can find something that the student feels a strong connection to in the material then the student will engage themselves.
What techniques would you use to be sure that a student understands the material?
Have them explain it to me. Their answer is more enlightening than any other metric.