What is your teaching philosophy?

Every student has the ability to succeed.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

By cultivating a desire for knowledge, pairing it with proven organizational and study skills.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

By creating a plan for learning, and by interacting with successes in tangible ways.

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

Usually it isn't the content that is difficult for the student\ as much as the means of communicating the concept. I would assess the student's particular learning habits, and then teach material in a way that favors those habits. Repetition, practice, and patience are key, as is positive encouragement.

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

We would develop a baseline of questions that the student must be able to answer about any given passage. We would start with a simple passage and answer those questions such as: "Who is the speaker?" "Who is the intended audience?" "What is the central purpose of the passage?" Once the student can answer these question about a simple passage, or a passage of his or her own choosing, we can advance to more difficult passages.

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

The student needs small victories first in order to build the confidence required for the larger learning hurdles. Often, the real issue isn't a content issue, but a confidence issue.

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

A great way to see if a student has a thorough understanding of his material is to have him teach the material back to me.

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

Never miss an opportunity to praise a student for a job well done. Every correction should be balanced by three encouragements. When a student does something well for the first time, make a clear effort to reward them.

How do you evaluate a student's needs?

Evaluating a student's needs is both an art and a science. Needs can be clearly shown by class performance records, i.e. grades. Grades, however, cannot fully convey the entirety of the need. By gaining a student's trust, and relying on the student to communicate their needs, we can more completely address what the student requires.

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

Every student learns differently. In many ways, I don't "adapt" my tutoring. It isn't a reactive process. To clarify, I don't change or alter my tutoring to fit a certain student. Rather, I only create a specific tutoring plan when I discern the needs of the student.