Shannon: Paterson tutor
Certified Tutor
I earned my bachelor's degree in Elementary Education with an emphasis in English as a Second Language from Northern Arizona University. I was a teacher for 13 years in the SUSD school district where I taught grades 2-4. During the summers I worked with talented youth by teaching a pre-algebra course to 4th graders at Arizona State University. Throughout my career I have taught an array of learners and have developed many skills to meet individual needs. Throughout my teaching career to now, I have coached volleyball. I have coached at a variety of levels and age groups ranging from 11yrs-18yrs. I have a great passion for helping students succeed and have the patience and creative skill-set to make that happen. In my free time I enjoy playing volleyball, riding my bicycle with friends, traveling and spending time with family and friends.
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Undergraduate Degree: Northern Arizona University - Bachelors, Elementary Educatiom
Play volleyball, traveling, riding my bicycle with friends, attending concerts/festivals and spending time with family and friends
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
Helping a student to become an independent learner is the overall goal. Some skills in learning require time management and a different style of approach, whereas others may need reinforcement on concepts through clarification or reteaching and extra practice.
How would you help a student stay motivated?
Helping a student stay motivated is to build pride in the work they are doing. Not all processes are exciting, but the end result is where the reward is. Perseverance is a constant life skill that needs to be taught and practiced.
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
If a student is having difficulty learning a skill, first it is a matter of figuring out what it is that they do know and understand, and then building around that. Changing up the learning style, as well providing real world application always helps.
How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?
Helping students who struggle with reading comprehension is like learning a new sport or game. It takes practice, patience, and perseverance. Finding text that is interesting to the student is always a great place to start to build comprehension skills, and then you can apply it to academic text.
What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?
A strategy that I have found to be most successful is to build trust. It is important to have something in common with the student. The other piece is to chunk out material. Less is always more in the process.