Dana: Mundelein tutor
Certified Tutor
As an educator, I help students meet their fullest potential, so they can grow academically with high self-esteem. Tutoring provides an opportunity for continual learning and growth. One of my hopes as an educator is to instill a love of learning. We all have strengths and weaknesses, and it's imperative we ask questions to reach our goals. My tutoring involves weaknesses in the following: reading comprehension, phonics, inference, writing, mechanics, college entrance writing, and more.
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Undergraduate Degree: UH Victoria - Bachelors, Science
Graduate Degree: UH Clear Lake - Masters, Science
playing with my dog, Candy, spending time with my grandchildren, reading, shopping, writing in my journal, watching The Big Bang Theory, and NCIS.
What is your teaching philosophy?
Give scholars a working environment where they work to their highest potential, and they will reach their goals.
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
During the first tutoring session, I will ask the student to explain in detail what we have to accomplish. Then, I will ask the student to model the strategies in which he or she can find the answer/writing focus. This is a huge step in helping me find out more about the student's strengths and weaknesses.
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
I can help a student become an independent learner by modeling how to solve a reading/writing weakness. I will then ask the student to model the same strategy. This will take place on a couple of occasions for mastery.
How would you help a student stay motivated?
It's imperative to give the student praises where appropriate to help keep a student motivated, in addition to creating a motivational chart.
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
If a student has difficulty with learning a skill or concept, I will model how to improve the weakness. Then, I will ask the student to utilize the strategy to see progress.
How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?
To improve reading comprehension, I will first take into consideration the students' fluency rate and ask the students questions in relation to a reading. This will help me in deciding what steps I will take first. It could involve one of the following: the type of question asked, characterization, relationships between characters, summarizing, main idea, etc.
What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?
Successful strategies I have found most successful when working with a new student involve a step by step process and a discussion as to "why" we take the necessary steps.
How would you help a student get excited/engaged with a subject that they are struggling in?
I would show the students their strengths in the subjects they are struggling in to improve engagement.
What techniques would you use to be sure that a student understands the material?
I would ask additional questions/writing examples of the student that are like/similar to the assignment to show understanding.
How do you build a student's confidence in a subject?
I will begin with praise at the beginning of our session to show encouragement. This also demonstrates how much the student really knows about the subject. Then, we will build from there.
What types of materials do you typically use during a tutoring session?
Manipulatives may involve the following: a writing template, writing examples, a parts of speech list, small reading samples, close strategies to help answer reading STAAR questions, use of the whiteboard, etc.
How do you evaluate a student's needs?
I evaluate the needs of students by observing them while they take formal and informal assessments from the tutoring service and myself. Then, I ask the students to explain how they reached their answers. If they struggle with explaining the answers they came up with, then that's a sure sign he or she is struggling with the understanding of the vocabulary words pertaining to the subject. This also tells me see the student is struggling with the learning environment he or she is being exposed to.
How do you adapt your tutoring to the student's needs?
I adapt my