John

What is your teaching philosophy?

I believe that every student has the ability to learn, and that each person has their own unique learning style. I feel in order to be the most effective teacher, I need to connect with each student and find what learning style works best for them as an individual.

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

The first session is only different than other sessions because I am trying to assess the student's strengths and weaknesses to find where I can best help. I will usually ask the student what they feel they are good at and what they need more help with, but I will also be trying to diagnose problems they might not recognize as we work through material.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

If it is math, I show students how to create problems for themselves similar to ones we are working on. One of the most powerful assets I can give to high school and college students is how to read material fully only once. Reading for many is the hardest part of studying (especially if you are not interested in the subject), and even worse is the dread of having to reread the material for a test. In my method, you only need to read the book once fully, but will be able to go over the important information from the chapters over and over, so test studying is quicker and more effective.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

Motivation is easy for the students who care about their grades. You give them encouragement that they are getting better because they are, even if it is not immediately reflected in grades. You tell them the improvements they've made and what areas they still need to work on. It is definitely more difficult to motivate students who say they do not care about their grades and whose parents are forcing them into tutoring. It is important to remind them that they will have to get through this, or they will fail and have to either retake the class or do summer school (depending on age). It's also important to remind them that this information they are learning is probably going to be needed again in the future, and if they do not learn it now, they will need to do even more work later to catch up.

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

I always try to find multiple ways to explain a concept. If explaining it to them in simpler terms does not work, I will usually try an analogy. If that does not work, I will try to show a visual example. I try to come up with multiple examples until I find one that connects with the student.