What is your teaching philosophy?

In my experience, students learn best when they are encouraged to ask lots of questions. By structuring our lessons as a conversation, I get students asking complex questions that will boost both comprehension and recall. In "educational lingo," my style is known as "Socratic."

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

In our first session, I speak with students about their learning goals, and we develop a study plan together. It's the best way to make sure you get where you want to be!

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

I encourage independent learning in students by modeling study techniques and strategies and giving them the space to practice those techniques and strategies through a wide variety of high-interest material. We will read things you are actually interested in!

How would you help a student stay motivated?

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure - I strive to make lessons fun and engaging to fit the personality of each individual student. Everybody goes through periods of low energy, however, and it's important to talk about this with students before it happens. Having an easy, consistent routine will help students recover from moments of low energy.

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

I would encourage the student to talk through their current difficulties, and I would work on a new learning strategy with them.

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

There are MANY ways to help students with reading comprehension, but one of the most important is finding and using high-interest reading material. Then, I will tailor certain strategies to fit my student's personality, learning style, and remedies for his or her particular problem. Read-alouds and re-writing assignments are helpful with many students!

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

Every student has an individual learning style, and I find that our sessions are most successful when my student and I have a conversation about goals, expectations, and interests.

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

Finding high-interest material is the key to student engagement. Luckily, I read A LOT, and about a wide variety of topics, so I always have some interesting stuff up my sleeve! I also help students stay calm, and my quirky sense of humor gets students to see topics in a new and fun light.

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

I use a variety of both formative and summative assessments. One of the best strategies to guide comprehension is to build a rubric with a student and use that rubric to chart the student's progress on his or her goals.

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

I nurture confidence in my students by using humor and by talking through issues calmly and logically. You can do anything with a plan and a positive attitude!

How do you evaluate a student's needs?

I take the time to truly and actively listen to what my students are saying. Using conversations with students combined with evaluative rubrics, I can talk to my students about their learning goals and adjust their learning plans to meet their needs.

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

Every student is special, and I make sure that I listen to what my students say so that I can understand how each of them thinks and learns best.

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

I use whatever materials will help my students reach their goals. We can work with standard test preparation guides, news and current events, and novels - I will use whatever my students find interesting!