What is your teaching philosophy?

My teaching philosophy is that each student is an individual with unique needs and struggles. In this regard, I like to take a personal approach to each student, learn their likes and dislikes, and use them to help personalize a lesson plan that engages them to the subject.

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

In a typical first session, I look to find what, according to the student, is their biggest struggle. After taking that into account, I use basic comprehension questions to determine the student's skill level and weaknesses.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

In my opinion, the biggest way to make a student an engaged and independent learner is to foster some interest in the subject, and (if that fails) create an easy to follow, step-by-step learning process.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

The best way to stay motivated is to set small, achievable goals that show the student's progress but aren't impossible to reach.

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

I would first learn what was the source of the difficulty, and then provide them an alternate way to approach the concept. Sometimes a change in perspective is all that is needed.

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

I find that the most important aspect of helping a student with reading comprehension is taking it slow. The pressure of reading correctly can be overwhelming and discouraging. Another way to help a student would be to find a reading subject they are interested in so they are more inclined to be successful.

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

Getting to know the student personally is the single most important strategy to have. Each student is different and has different needs.