Alexander: Sussex tutor
Certified Tutor
I graduated from Hiram College in 2012 with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy. I studied the history of ethics and epistemology in Western thought, particular attention paid to Plato, Aristotle, Kant, and Foucault. I served as a teaching assistant for a colloquium on Buddhism as a college student and have worked in a library for the past two years.
I am currently tutoring in the following subject areas: writing, literature, English, GRE verbal, and graduate test preparation.
I enjoy painting, reading, and ice skating.
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Undergraduate Degree: Hiram College - Bachelors, Philosophy
- GRE Verbal: 163
Ice Skating, Painting, Drawing, Reading
- College English
- Comparative Literature
- English
- Graduate Test Prep
- GRE Verbal
- High School English
- Literature
- Writing
What is your teaching philosophy?
I believe in a patient, Socratic approach to learning.
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
Acquaint myself with the student's background, interests, and aspirations. I would also inquire about the student's academic history with the particular subject that we would be focusing on.
How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?
I would first have them read a passage aloud, in order to acquaint myself with their specific difficulties with reading comprehension. I would also encourage the student to seek out material that aligns with the student's interests, in order to promote a desire to read.
What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?
Some strategies that have been effective include: helping the student become better organized, rereading assignments and writing prompts, and establishing specific routines for doing homework.
How would you help a student get excited/engaged with a subject that they are struggling in?
I would seek to learn more about the student's personal interests and then seek to tie a relevant interest into a lesson.
What techniques would you use to be sure that a student understands the material?
I would have them attempt to teach the lesson back to me. This way, I would be able to see whether or not they understood the material well enough to communicate to someone else.
How do you build a student's confidence in a subject?
I would try to compartmentalize the lesson, so that they do not have to tackle all of it at once. This way, they would be able to grasp the subject piece by piece without being discouraged.
How do you evaluate a student's needs?
It varies on the subject. In math, for instance, I would have them retake a test and then evaluate the kinds of problems they struggled with. However, with English, I would have them read a passage aloud and then quiz them on the content and vocabulary within the passage, and evaluate their responses.
How do you adapt your tutoring to the student's needs?
First I would determine the student's learning style and then adapt my tutoring to play to the student's strengths. For instance, if a student is a visual learner, I would attempt to incorporate videos, charts, drawings, and other visual media in order to compensate.
What types of materials do you typically use during a tutoring session?
I use videos, dry-erase boards, sound recordings, dictionaries, writing utensils and paper, computers, and manipulatives.