Kimberly: Prospect Heights tutor
Certified Tutor
I was a teacher for 13.5 years, teaching grades 5-12. I have loved it, but I needed a change of scenery, so I left to pursue another career. However, I feel that I am not finished teaching completely and I hope to have a positive impact on students by tutoring them when they are struggling. I know learning another language is challenging, but it can also be so much fun and can open up so many doors for a student!
In my spare time, I love to travel (either long or short trips), read , work out, cook, and spend time with family and friend. I also love getting together with my Spanish-speaking friends to catch up and I get to use my Spanish language skills!
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Undergraduate Degree: Onondaga Community College - Bachelors, Spanish and Communications
Graduate Degree: LeMoyne College - Masters, Secondary Education
reading, biking, cooking
What is your teaching philosophy?
Every student can learn if given the tools to succeed.
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
I would get to know the student as a person, find out what his/her interests are so I can hopefully incorporate them into future lessons, and assess what their strengths and weaknesses are.
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
I always give guided practice as well as independent practice once they are comfortable with a concept to teach them to think for themselves.
How would you help a student stay motivated?
I always encourage students to give their best effort to the task they are trying to accomplish. Praise, praise, praise!
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
Explain the concept or skill, give real world examples, and give guided practice until the student is ready for independent practice.
How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?
I always try to chunk reading information, paragraph by paragraph. I encourage the student to look up words he/she does not know/understand, and then perhaps make a dictionary, using the word/s in a sentence and draw a picture to help their comprehension.
What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?
I like to complete icebreaker activities so the student can get to know me and I can get to know the student.
How would you help a student get excited/engaged with a subject that they are struggling in?
Going back to getting to know the student's interests, I try to tie them into lessons when appropriate so that what they are learning is personal and meaningful.
What techniques would you use to be sure that a student understands the material?
I always check for understanding through formal and informal assessments.
How do you build a student's confidence in a subject?
I always praise students for completing tasks and give feedback on what the student did well and what the student could do better. I ask the student, too, what he or she thinks he or she did well and what he or she could do better next time.
How do you evaluate a student's needs?
I always start with an assessment of what the student has already learned so I know what needs to be reinforced as we progress.
How do you adapt your tutoring to the student's needs?
I find out how that student learns the best, whether he or she is an auditory or hands on learner, etc.
What types of materials do you typically use during a tutoring session?
Depending on the topic, I like to incorporate games and technology to make learning fun.