I believe that the role of education is to promote the success of all learners by understanding, responding to, and influencing the larger political, social, economic, and cultural context of the community. This is achieved by collaborating with the greater community in the decision-making process, in the creation of a new vision, and in sharing knowledge and abilities. When this praxis is emplaced, all benefit.

First sessions are opportunities for the tutor and the student to get to know each other. I would ask open-ended questions to put the learner at ease (e.g., What is your favorite activity? Tell me about why it's your favorite). I would then tell them about my favorite activity, yet focus on what they have to say in order to encourage them to feel safe and comfortable. I would also ask them to discuss any goals or objectives they would like to achieve during our sessions, in addition to mastering the tutoring goals.

They can become independent learners as they learn to be more self-directed. I will teach them to reread, repeat, and underline key words/concepts in order to help them think for themselves and find their own solutions. As well, I will have them summarize and paraphrase the materials to increase comprehension. This will help them make connections between the material and real-life, as they create analogies and relate events to personal feelings and attitudes.

I will have high expectations of performance and set these from the very beginning of our sessions. These expectations will be iterated throughout, given positive reinforcement in the form of praise and encouragement. I will also use true-to-life examples as often as possible to bring a flair of reality to the teaching and keep the student interested in the outcomes.

First, I would review the skill using a step-by-step process. I would use instructional scaffolding strategies to link the student's prior learning to new learning; use visual imagery or schematics to help the student visualize the skill/concept (e.g., webbing and mapping); help the student identify the 5 Ws (what, who, when, where, and why). We would discuss the "how" together.

I utilize pre-reading and post-reading strategies and engage in questioning the student about the passage to increase comprehension. As the student becomes stronger, I have them question themselves aloud about the reading. I also have them identify the main idea(s), using underlining and highlighting strategies, in combination with graphic organizers.

I find that relaying my high expectations and discussing the important points of those expectations has always encouraged great success. As well, when there is a syllabus or plan available, I find that reading them together and identifying specific expectations always encourages students to extend themselves to do better.

I am a fervent proponent of project-based learning and questioning. I start each session with a question about the material and then delve into the material as if looking for a treasure. It gives the tutoring sessions the feel of a project or research, which is always exciting. As well, I make sure to give the student immediate and clear feedback about the work and their product.

My most effective technique is questioning. I ask questions throughout the session to confirm understanding and to make sure the student is "with me". Ten minutes prior to the end of the session, I give the student a sticky note to answer a question I will ask about the session we've just had. This helps me assess how well the student understood the material; how effective or ineffective I am at the teaching; tells me if reteaching is needed, and it also serves as a quick and effective tool for showing the student how he/she is doing. I keep the stickies to help me review with the student and help me reflect on my teaching.

I encourage students to compete against themselves by continually improving their personal best. I begin by using a baseline obtained either by a test, report cards, or some other type of assessment. Then, I keep track of their improvement and chart it, making sure they take part in the data collection and data analysis. As they watch their improvement, their confidence level also improves. This is another way in which the sticky notes help with data gathering.

The most reliable way to assess the needs of a student is to assign a task (e.g., quiz, writing prompt, and math question) that will gauge their prior knowledge, their strengths, and/or weaknesses.

I engage in experiential activities whenever available. I work on being flexible by providing information that will overlap that which they already have. This iteration reinforces old knowledge and braces new knowledge. I acknowledge and validate student emotions by allowing them to share the emotional experiences of the day. Then, I minimize the talking to maximize my ability to actively listen to the student’s verbal and nonverbal communication. I further individualize the tutoring by getting the learner involved in the mutual effort to discover how they learn best (e.g., visual, kinesthetic, and auditory).

I use the material provided to me by the tutoring center. If the student brings his/her own materials, I try to incorporate it into the session, if time allows. Otherwise, I assign some of the student's personal materials as homework to reinforce the skill taught.