What is your teaching philosophy?

I always start a teaching relationship with an assessment of a student's learning style, and I recommend that they take a short quiz to see what works best for them. Most people are at least partly visual learners, so I try to incorporate written instructions, symbols, diagrams, and pictures into a lecture.

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

I always start by getting to know the student, what they want, where they are headed, what motivates them, and why they're doing what they're doing. When teaching the LSAT, for example, this often involves a general discussion of law school and being a lawyer. I get to the test soon, though, and dig into the principles and strategies common to the whole test, then put them to use!

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

Practice doesn't make perfect- perfect practice does. I will show you the most effective way to study, help you make a study schedule, and hold you accountable. I might look nice, but I can be mean! (Just kidding, I really am nice.)

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

When prepping a student for the LSAT, I mostly use a large collection of real LSAT tests from the past 20 years and a limited number of reference materials. I teach you the method, but it's helpful to have a book to read and refresh when we're not in a session.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

It is easy to get burnt out- varied study topics and materials, along with an aggressive but realistic study plan are key. If you go too slow, you get bored; go too fast, and you burn out. Do the same thing over and over again, and you get sick of it!

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

I often recommend (and supply) an alternate explanation, often from a different publisher or test prep company, because one wording sometimes just makes more sense than another. Everybody is different! I also think our brains do a lot of subconscious work, so sometimes it is best to walk away and come back to the problem.