What is your teaching philosophy?

Through over 9 years of homeschooling and tutoring, I have found that my greatest asset is the ability to recognize and adapt to a student's different learning styles, which can vary between and even within different subject matters.

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

The establishment of trust and defining the tutor-student relationship are extremely important. Beginning to assess the student's abilities and styles of learning through open-ended questions that draw them into the process is key. They must be invested in the relationship and believe that I am also invested in it. They must also be willing to work towards their desired outcomes.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

Identifying the roadblocks to independent learning is the key. Once recognized, I offer strategies and skills to overcome these difficulties and use small independent assignments to reinforce positive results.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

Benchmarking progress (either on paper or verbally) allows us, as a team, to look back and track progress towards educational goals. Recognizing successes and identifying and resolving setbacks in a steady loop of feedback ensure that the student will appreciate their forward progress and be motivated by their success.

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

It all comes down to learning styles. There are a large variety of methods to present any concept. Videos, stories, real world examples, and having the student attempt to "teach" the concept to the tutor are methods that can be used when roadblocks are met. A careful assessment of the base concepts leading up to the trouble areas is also important in identifying issues and creating alternative solutions.

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

A focus on vocabulary, out-loud reading, and student verbal summaries of small sections of text will often help identify the issues creating comprehension problems. Asking students to "retell" sections of the text in their own words and open-ended questions regarding the text will often help them take the time and effort necessary to improve this skill.

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

The student must trust that you are there for more than a paycheck, that you are invested in their success. Taking the time to get to know them and how they feel about any issues they are having helps to develop this trust. Always, take one step back in the subject to insure that base level skills are present and to allow the student initial academic success with the new tutor.

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

By understanding the student, you can often show the real-world importance of a student's trouble area. Understanding modern popular culture and finding links between the subject area and student's interests is key. Identifying a method for the student to find some initial success in the problem area is also important.

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

A constant 360 degree loop of feedback between the tutor and the student reinforces successes and allows the tutor to constantly assess the student's comprehension of the material. Written quizzes and/or verbal assessments allow the teacher to constantly refine the teaching technique for each subject as well as provide positive feedback for the student.