What is your teaching philosophy?

Students are influenced by different types of environmental systems. Not only do the people with whom we interact shape us, but so do our surroundings, our society, and our own beliefs and values. This explains why students may act one way in school, another around friends, and yet another around family. This model helps to guide me towards a teaching method that is more personalized and effective for the student.

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

The first step is to address the student's needs and areas of weakness. Then, I would offer a variety of methods of practice to identify the student's learning style. If the student is struggling with larger concepts, I would organize a series of lessons with a culminating assessment at the conclusion.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

Helping a student become an independent learner can be as simple as teaching him or her to read more actively or providing different sources of reading material (as opposed to a textbook, for instance). Having discussions with students may evoke healthy debate and help them to understand different points of view. However, it is most important to teach students persistence by having them continue with the problem until they have exhausted all their options. I also feel that instilling time management is an invaluable skill.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

Setting goals, both small and large, helps students to become intrinsically motivated. While this may not be easy, creating an encouraging environment helps to get students invested in the goal itself.

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

First, I would switch up the learning style. Even if the student is normally a visual learner, for instance, I may bring in a kinesthetic aspect to the lesson so that the student has to be active in the learning, rather than passive. Once an effective method has been identified, the student and I would then continue to practice. Practice problems should increase in difficulty as the student masters the task.

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

I prefer to use a mixture of strategies: monitoring comprehension, graphic organizers, answering/generating questions, and summarization.