What is your teaching philosophy?

To support students in becoming independent learners by preparing them with the study skills, enthusiasm, and curiosity to continue to ask questions and seek answers.

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

I want the student to be comfortable with me, so I will ask them briefly about themselves, their areas of interest, and most important: the area they believe they are struggling.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

I can help students become independent learners by first discovering the best way in which they learn (visual, auditory, repetition, etc.), and teaching them study skills that will suit their mode of learning. It is also important to teach students what questions to ask professors while learning new information or reviewing old material.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

I am an enthusiastic person, so I believe I can keep students motivated with encouraging phrases, positive reinforcement, and relating problems to real life situations. In addition, humor can be the best cure when a problem seems overwhelming.

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

If a student has difficulty learning a concept, I will try to do independent research on my part to discover additional ways to present the material to the student. It is always wise to refer them to his or her teacher if it is a concept that the student is struggling to understand.

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

I think patience and positive reinforcement are important ways to help students who are struggling with reading comprehension. Strategically, visually representing abstract concepts present in reading assignments into outlines or other visual means can be helpful. In addition, having the student relay the reading assessment back to the tutor is also beneficial in knowing if they understood the passage.

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

First, a tutor must identify the student's learning style and cater sessions to his or her style. Second, continuing to remain positive with the student and ensuring them that it is okay not to know how to solve the problem, is crucial. As a tutor, you want the student to build confidence and be comfortable around the tutor.

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

To help a student become engaged or excited about a subject that they are struggling in, I try to relate it to their life somehow. If it is math, I find a way to make it applicable and have them understand the reasons as to why they are studying it. With English, helping students apply literary concepts to their own life can also be exciting.

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

To ensure a student fully understand the problem, I try to have him or her successfully complete a new, like problem without looking at notes that he or she took during the tutor session.

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

I help to build students' confidence within a subject by helping them with not just answering the question correctly, but understanding why the material they are currently studying is fundamental and applicable to everyday life.

How do you evaluate a student's needs?

I evaluate a student's needs by first asking them if they know how they learn best. If they do not know, I use a simple and quick test called the VARK, to discover what is their best learning method. In addition, sometimes a tutor can discover the student's preferred method of learning based on their other areas of interest (ie: art, reading, music, etc.)

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

I implement the VARK studying techniques, by either increasing my repetition when I tutor, my visual representation of the information, or relocate to a quieter and less distracting area of the library.

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

I am a huge advocate for scrap paper and a pencil. However, if students are struggling with basic math concepts, sometimes bringing along some beads or other items that come in various quantities can be great for students to see abstract numbers represented in concrete terms.