What is your teaching philosophy?

I believe the goal of education is to encourage students to seek answers through active participation that makes learning more effective and enjoyable. I approach teaching in a supportive way and want students to succeed beyond the classroom. The theme of my teaching philosophy is reasoned thought, whereby students use rational thinking to solve problems. Understanding the fundamental concepts is more important than rote memorization.

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

Get to know the student and assess his or her level of understanding and interest in the subject.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

Encourage the student to solve problems on his/her own and point him/her to resources for self-study.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

Make the sessions enjoyable and use examples from the student's own interests, e.g., sports, business, astronomy.

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

Break the concept down into smaller pieces, using plain English and real world examples.

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

Use the Socratic method to tease out what the student knows, demonstrating that he/she already knows something about the subject. I believe this helps the student build confidence.

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

Use examples from an area they are already excited about and show how the subject does have a tie to their world.

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

Posing a question and having the student explain how to solve or answer the question, not just answer it.

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

Use the Socratic method so the student sees that he/she does know something about the subject.

How do you evaluate a student's needs?

Ask him or her to describe the material. The answer highlights areas of need.

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

Primarily the material from the student's class, as that is the most relevant. When useful, I offer supplemental material from books that I own and have used.

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

I ask the student what they want to cover and focus on that. Sometimes the student wants help understanding the concepts, or the student wants help applying the concepts to homework problems.

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

Have the student break down the passage to smaller chunks and piece together the key points.