What is your teaching philosophy?

Students learn best when they are motivated to do so. Finding a personal connection to the material makes learning more interesting, and always yields greater results.

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

I want to get to know the student personally. I will spend time asking questions such as "What are you working on?," "What are you interested in?," or "What do you find challenging?" Successful sessions are designed specifically to that student, not as a prefabricated mold.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

In every session, I make an effort to talk as little as possible. I ask questions to fan the flame for that student, encouraging them to discover the answers for themselves.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

It's critical that they always keep the end goal in mind. Don't get bogged down with the details, but focus on the big picture.

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

To tackle a difficult concept, I approach it from different angles to find out why something isn't clicking. It won't do any good to simply continue repeating the same explanation over and over.

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

Practice makes perfect. Start with simpler texts and work your way up. Read often, and don't be embarrassed to start on a lower level; that's the best way to start making progress.

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

Ask questions, be active, make personal connections.

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

It's critical that students understand how subjects relate to their daily lives. Making material relevant makes it easier to understand and less complicated.

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

I ask lots of questions. I always follow up on the initial answer with "Why?" or " How did you get there?" Continuing the conversation helps develop an understanding of the topic that goes deeper than just memorizing facts.

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

Lots of practice. If they're struggling in a particular area we might take a break, revisit a topic they have mastered to boost their confidence, then take that revitalized energy and look back at the challenging material. Sometimes it helps immensely to take a break and look at something that makes you feel good about yourself and your abilities.

How do you evaluate a student's needs?

I always ask the student what they think their strengths and weaknesses are. Hearing it in their own words can reveal a lot about what needs work. Beyond that, every time we start on a new topic, I ask them to complete an exercise without my help so I can evaluate where our baseline is to work from.

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

By constantly asking myself what they need to work on during each session. Just because something worked last week doesn't mean it will work this week. Sometimes we take longer to talk through the material, sometimes it's more beneficial to just straight into the work to get as much practice in as possible.

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

It truly depends on the student. I always think working with materials they get in school is best because it allows them to concretely connect the work we do to the work they might be struggling with in class. Outside materials I bring in vary from basic worksheets to exercises drawn from books/magazines/newspapers that can pique the student's interest a bit more.