What is your teaching philosophy?

I believe that everybody has it in them to succeed and learn new things every day. The biggest obstacle is self confidence and the lack of belief in oneself. Not only can I help a student with this, but I know many tips and tricks to make studying, particularly math and science, much more enjoyable and easier.

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

Try to gauge their current comprehension levels, identify holes in their knowledge, and try to understand what areas and techniques I should use to benefit them the most. It's also important to understand their learning style.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

Belief in their own ability and a better understanding of positive study habits.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

Mix it up and try to not repeat the same basic lessons over and over. Also, by tracking their progress.

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

Show them, watch them, and then make them teach me. Also try to show them different approaches if that is appropriate.

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

It depends on where they struggle, but reading the questions first and then the passages is a good place to start.

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

Understanding what they may think is their greatest knowledge gap and then focus on that.

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

Don't make them do things which they find boring-- find a way to make it more interesting!

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

Test then retest to show marked improvement. Also, make them reteach things back to me.

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

Be able to show them improvement over time.

How do you evaluate a student's needs?

It all depends on why they need tutoring. Everybody has different needs.

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

It depends on their needs, but I have several techniques and teaching styles.

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

Paper and pencil, test books, practice problems.