What is your teaching philosophy?

My philosophy is that anyone can learn anything if they put their mind to it. Different people will require different methods to get to the same place, but everyone can get there.

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

Get to know the student and find out what their knowledge of the subject is to start out with, so that I know how to proceed in subsequent tutoring sessions.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

By showing them how to take complex concepts and problems, and break them down until they can understand each part in order to rebuild the entire concept. Also to show them the different resources available to help them learn.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

By finding out what their goals in life are, and by showing them how to apply what they are learning to what they want to do in the future.

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

Find a way that they will distinguish this concept, whether it be a play on words, a song, or writing the concept a certain way.

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

If a student is struggling with reading comprehension, I have them read out loud paragraph by paragraph and summarize each paragraph for me as they go. As their comprehension gets better they will read longer passages then begin reading the passages to themselves then summarizing them.

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

To show them how they can use what they already have a solid basis in to solve the problem before them. Also to make sure they have the confidence required to succeed.