My teaching philosophy is that every student can succeed given a good teacher that believes in them, creates a positive learning environment, and focuses on figuring out what learning style works best for each student.

During my first session with a student, I'd like to go over what subjects the student is having trouble with. Being able to go over a student's prior assignments and tests would be helpful in this troubleshooting process. I would also make sure to ask the student how I can be most helpful to them. Finally, I would also make sure to get to know the student on a personal level, because I think building a friendly relationship with students is important to creating a positive learning environment.

I have a variety of tools I can employ to help students stay motivated. First off, I like to try and have a good sense of humor. Cracking jokes every now and then can help ease frustration and break up the monotony of challenging work. I might also set up a system of taking breaks - for instance, after completing a worksheet, I could allow the student to take a five minute break (during which, I could even play silly or motivational videos if the student would like). Some students might work well listening to music, so I could show them motivational, pump-up music to keep them going. Ultimately, as the student is putting in effort, that helps keep me motivated, and that helps stimulate my own energy to keep us moving and learning.

If a student is having difficulty learning a skill or concept, I would try to break it down into small pieces and hone in on which part is most challenging to the student. I generally like to teach a concept in terms of how the student learned it in class, but if the student is really struggling and is open to trying other methods, I would see if there is a different approach to successfully learning the skill or concept that I could teach to the student that would work best for him/her. Also, sometimes taking a break and going back to the problem later works well. So we could work on other subjects in the meantime, and then later return to the challenge with a fresh head.

Being able to identify your own issue areas and taking the initiative to troubleshoot those challenging topics will help you become an independent learner. In tutoring sessions, I will ensure that students gain this critical skill of learning to identify problems and setting goals that will help them become effective and efficient learners.