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

I like to make a prediction and then talk about the cover of a book. When it comes to reading, its really about chunking paragraphs and really having an understanding of what we are reading.

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

I like to find out what motivates them and make sure that I share positive feedback with them. A child needs to see the confidence in me and learn to believe within him/herself that we can do this! No question is a dumb question.

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

I would find a way to tie it into a visual project. For example, if we are talking about a new country-- Let's make a poster of what we might find there, including characteristics of the country, foods, religion, population, and habitat. Having a visual in front of me engages me to get excited about it.

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

Question and answering. Asking open-ended response questions and retelling what they learned to me.

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

I pick a weakness and build that with positivity. Knowing my students, I can see how each one is motivated. Each child is unique.

How do you evaluate a student's needs?

I would look at a pretest and assess where we would need to go back and work on what wasn't mastered. I would give the same pretest as a post test and see how far we've come and build again, if needed.

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

I would identify what type of learner he/she is and adjust to those learning styles.

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

Smart board, manipulatives, tactile objects, worksheets, experiments, and anything creative to help engage my student.

What is your teaching philosophy?

All children can learn. We didn't learn to walk at the same time, and some of us need more time than others to process a concept. I like to say that we may not be there "YET" but we will get there! Creating a supportive environment is very important for the student. It is critical to make a connection with my student in order to keep him/her engaged.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

By modeling the way, working with him one on one, and then encouraging him to take the risk and do it on his own.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

I would ask what his/her interests are and create a reward system based on those interests. I'd also track our success and create goals.

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

Reteach the concept but in a different way. If I taught something that was mainly auditory, I would bring in more hands-on learning tools in order to help him gain the concept through concrete means then to more abstract ways.