What is your teaching philosophy?

Listen to the students to find out what they know, and what they don't know. Then, guide them through the process of learning what they didn't know.

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

Get to know them a bit, find out what their future plans are/might be. Then, ask them what their areas of strength and weakness are. Set some learning goals.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

By helping the student to develop a learning process-- a structure that identifies the main idea(s) and skills as learning outcomes.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

By discussing their future goals and objectives - and reminding them that this is part of the process of getting there.

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

Review the basic components or elements of the topic, and then guide them in putting these components together into the whole topic.

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

Be open and friendly. Try to establish a personal connection that can grow and facilitate the tutoring process.

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

Relate it to their life - how the subject is part of the Big Picture and important in specific ways.

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

Short quizzes that practice the skills learned and vocabulary definitions.

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

Genuine positive feedback concerning their progress, and summarizing what has been learned occasionally.

How do you evaluate a student's needs?

Through both verbal and written diagnostics to determine their strengths and weaknesses.

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

By paying attention to what works well and what doesn't work so well. Also, by asking the student what s/he would like to focus more on.

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

List of key terms/concepts, graphing practice, situation/problem analysis, and summarizing main ideas.

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

By developing simple outlining skills. Focus on finding the main idea and supporting main points.