What is your teaching philosophy?

I believe that students learn best by doing. I first discuss with the students their goals for a test or course. I teach the basic strategies and knowledge needed to do better on the test and then assist the student in going through practice problems to improve pacing and accuracy.

What might you do in a typical first session with a student?

I will typically ask the students questions about any tests they have already taken. I will diagnose strengths and weaknesses and come up with a schedule/plan on how to improve the score. I may go over some basic strategy as well, time permitting.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

I will show the student the skills and content knowledge necessary for achieving their goals. I also assist with time management.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

I try to help the student stay focused on their goal, and also encourage them by noting progress that has been made from session to session.

If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?

I try explaining alternative ways to teach the skill or concept and practice multiple problems.

How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?

I focus on the pacing of the student in reading over the material. I teach them to identify key words such as thus, but, and for example. I teach them how to be active readers by underlining, predicting, and paraphrasing as they read.

What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?

I find it helpful to illustrate the strategy that will lead to the most improvement first, and then have the student practice that new strategy.

How would you help a student get excited/engaged with a subject that they are struggling in?

I talk about the subject matter with them and focus on how that subject matter can help them attain their overall goals, such as higher GPA/test scores to get to the college or grad school of their choice.

What techniques would you use to be sure that a student understands the material?

I focus on using real world questions from whatever test I teach such as the GRE, SAT, ACT, or LSAT. If the student is performing well on the real questions then I know they have mastered the material.

How do you build a student's confidence in a subject?

I try to work first from the easier questions and then progress to the harder questions. I emphasize the basic strategies for all question types.

How do you evaluate a student's needs?

For many students I have them take a diagnostic test at the beginning of our sessions, and from those tests I can see they type of questions they are struggling with.

How do you adapt your tutoring to the student's needs?

I ask my students directly what they would like to focus on the most. I also see what the student is struggling with as we go through each session and take notes on what I need to teach in future sessions.

What types of materials do you typically use during a tutoring session?

As much as possible I use practice problems from previous tests, as they are the most accurate. If a student is doing well on the real problems, I know they can do well on the problems they are confronted with on test day.