Ronan
Certified Tutor
Undergraduate Degree: Agnes Scott College - Bachelors, Economics and Organizational Management
ACT English: 34
ACT Reading: 32
Irish literature, cold brewing teas, French film
10th Grade Reading
11th Grade Reading
12th Grade Reading
1st Grade Reading
2nd Grade Reading
3rd Grade Reading
4th Grade Reading
5th Grade Reading
6th Grade Reading
7th Grade Reading
8th Grade Reading
9th Grade Reading
Adult Literacy
College English
Comparative Literature
Elementary School Reading
High School English
Middle School Reading
What is your teaching philosophy?
There is no student who is unteachable; it is simply about finding the way one learns best and applying it to the material.
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
I think it is important to get to know the students before diving in. What are their learning goals? What motivates them to do well? How do they like to be taught? What helps them remember? After an initial assessment, a first session will always include engaging a student on a personal level.
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
You can help a student become an independent learner by making the material relevant to the student's life. If you can help a student connect the dots between what they are learning and what they are doing, the success rate is much higher.
How would you help a student stay motivated?
I like to let students know that it is okay to not be perfect. All students feel that pressure at some point or another. Knowing that I am there to help them grow- not perfect them- is usually a great motivator in and of itself.
How do you evaluate a student's needs?
This is a two-parter for me: I like to do an initial skills assessment, but then I also chat with a student to make sure we are both working toward the same goals.
How do you adapt your tutoring to the student's needs?
Some students learn kinetically, some auditorially, and some visually. Based on the concept and my observations of previous concepts retained, I adapt the three aforementioned learning styles to bring the student to the best understanding possible.
What types of materials do you typically use during a tutoring session?
Frankly, I like to use whatever is handy. Pens, paper, whiteboards... I am a bit of a kinetic learner myself, so if I can put my hands on something- even if only to draw or write the concept out- I can better grasp and, therefore, better explain.
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
I always try to make the material relevant to the student. If the student plays baseball, I can use baseball metaphors to make the content easier to grasp. If the student is great at math but struggles with English, I show the student that language is a formula.
How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?
I believe in metacognition, or thinking about thinking. Identify where the difficulty occurs. Identify what the difficulty is. Restate the difficult sentence or passage in their own words. Look back through the text. Look forward in the text for information that might help them to resolve the difficulty. These are the strategies I use to help students better understand what texts are saying.
How would you help a student get excited/engaged with a subject that they are struggling in?
Games! There is nothing better than making subjects fun for the student.
What techniques would you use to be sure that a student understands the material?
I like to have the student summarize the material they are learning as they learn it. It is part of my philosophy on metacognition, or thinking about thinking.
How do you build a student's confidence in a subject?
Positive reinforcement is important in regards to confidence. I believe in both earned praise and material reward.
What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?
I think the most important part of a first meeting is to make sure the student knows they matter and that I want them to succeed as much as they do.