What is your teaching philosophy?

I believe that learner-oriented teaching promotes learning that is both purposeful and enduring. As a teacher, it is my responsibility to know who my learners are, what kinds of knowledge and experience they have, and what they want to achieve so that I can tailor a curriculum that fits their needs and yet leaves enough room for discovery. By assessing where my learners are with respect to our mutual learning goals, I can provide the scaffolding they need to build connections between what they already know and the new understandings they seek to create. I embrace inquiry based teaching and other active learning activities because they stimulate problem solving and lay the groundwork for life-long learning.

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

A typical first session would include a baseline assessment so I can determine the needs and strengths of the student.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

I can help a student become an independent learner by teaching habits of the mind such as having a "growth mindset", learning to persevere through difficult task and creating strategies to self-monitor and assess before, during and after, completing rigorous task.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

I would help students stay motivated through positive reinforcement. I would place more emphasis on the process and their effort rather than "just getting the right answer".

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

If a student have difficulty learning a skill or concept I would scaffold and give support such as "sentence starters" and using "chunking" method to break down a concept into smaller more manageable pieces.

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

Reading fluency has much to do with comprehension and fluency, so I would work on reading comprehension skills and phonics for fluency.

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

Determining students’ needs and working with the student to create goals that are attainable for the students will allow the students to achieve success.

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

To motivate a student with a subject they are struggling with I would work to change the mindset and behaviors towards that subject, such as no longer saying "I hate math," to "I am finding difficulty with this subject but I will get better." I will also find a topic of interest related to this subject area to hook the students' interest.

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

I would have several "check for understandings" before, during and after each lesson to ensure mastery.

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

I would remind the student that everyone has difficulties in their life and teach them that without difficulties we would never grow, mature and get better at any subject. I would also incorporate games and interactive lesson strategies.

How do you evaluate a student's needs?

Formative and summative assessments throughout lessons allows me to evaluate student needs and develop materials to accommodate student needs.

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

Every effective educator is a reflective practitioner; therefore my material I develop must meet the social, emotional and cognitive rigor for each and every individual student.

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

My materials I use will vary depending on student needs.