Landen
Certified Tutor
Undergraduate Degree: University of California-Davis - Bachelor of Science, Electrical Engineering
SAT Composite (1600 scale): 1550
SAT Math: 800
SAT Writing: 800
Ultimate (frisbee), soccer, tennis, racquetball, other athletic and outdoor activities, and video games
Algebra 3/4
C++
College English
College Physics
High School English
High School Physics
Technology and Coding
What is your teaching philosophy?
I believe that the most important aspect of learning comes from working from the ground up; from what I've seen, most of the trouble people have with academics stem from not fully grasping earlier concepts than the ones they're working on.
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
Find out what their strengths and weaknesses are in a subject and adjust where the learning focus goes accordingly from there. Everyone grasps material differently, but not everyone understands how they learn; it can help if someone else can do it for them.
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
I can show them thought processes that can be used to overcome almost any problem. Basically, with good critical thinking skills, anyone can overcome their own learning challenges.
How would you help a student stay motivated?
It depends on the student. I would have to learn what excites or interests them to answer that.
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
Work backwards until we're on a level that they understand well, and then teach them up through the material they don't understand.
How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?
This is a difficult question to answer. I would have to say going through specific parts of what is being read and searching for specific parts of the reading the student doesn't understand. Also, trying to teach the importance of being ready to use a dictionary at any time. I feel using dictionaries is very important.
What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?
I've found that establishing a connection by being personable, funny, and lighthearted has been very successful. I also feel that making sure that they have a good incentive to improve at what they're working on helps a lot.
How would you help a student get excited/engaged with a subject that they are struggling in?
It depends on the student; if the subject is directly relevant to what they're doing, then using that. Otherwise, likely just making it a personal challenge to improve at the subject, but making it more interesting than just getting through busywork.
What techniques would you use to be sure that a student understands the material?
Asking pointed questions on the material and checking how "on top" of their responses they are. More fundamentally, I would make sure they understand the underlying reasons why the material is the way it is.
How do you build a student's confidence in a subject?
Make sure to be constructive and let them know that even brilliant people can struggle with some material. Struggling doesn't make one stupid; it probably is actually a failing on the education system somewhere along the line.
How do you evaluate a student's needs?
I ask questions, go through practice questions, and talk to the student to see where he/she is at, both in understanding and presentation of material.
How do you adapt your tutoring to the student's needs?
This is an incredibly difficult question to answer, so I need to keep it general. I need to assess how quickly it takes a student to learn and how well they can present the information, which lets me adjust how I tutor to these traits.
What types of materials do you typically use during a tutoring session?
The best materials are questions that test specific subject areas, questions combining multiple different concepts, and well-written documents explaining the concepts.