What is your teaching philosophy?

I want the student to feel like they are conversing with another student. I want them to have the ability to seek the answer without feeling judged. It is often insightful to bounce ideas off of peers, and that is how I want them to feel when we are discussing their tutored topics.

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

Find out a little about the student as a person. We'd have a basic conversation to get initially comfortable with one another. Afterwards, I want to know what type of study habits work the best with who they are as a person. Do they retain information best in the morning or at night? Do they learn with visual or auditory tools? These types of questions and more can help determine how to best engage the student so they can learn most effectively.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

By helping students utilize their own learning styles, they can be taught ways to digest the material so that it matches with their own learning processes. This way, they are able to retain more of the material and do better as a student.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

Remind the student that there is no one individual that gets everything correct, and that it is best to focus on material you are confident in and try your best in materials that may be your weaker subjects.

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

Re-evaluate how the subject is being taught, and try to demonstrate the material with a different method.

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

Use outline formatting or flowcharts to isolate the most important information that needs to be learned so that it can be focused on without other material cluttering the student's thought processes.

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

Maintaining a "student-peer" relationship so that while they can depend upon me for help in a subject, they do not feel like they are being "taught" and, therefore, judged. I try to make the material as interesting as possible and relate it to real world examples whenever possible.

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

Inquire to see whether there is a method that would make the subject easier and more fun to learn. Try to incorporate learning methods that are hands-on and allow the student to use props, etc. to be more engaged in the subject.

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

Using flow-charts, outline method, t/f questions, as well as some short-ended questions to gauge comprehension.

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

Encourage them when they get a concept correct. When they do not understand a concept, try to present it in another way. Always have a positive spin on how a concept was understood, then go back to the problem and re-examine it with a different or new method.

How do you evaluate a student's needs?

I like to evaluate each student on a personal level; see how each student learns and what methods help the information be "retained". This can usually be done by asking if the student is a visual or auditory learner.

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

I learn differently depending on the subject, and I know my students do as well. I find what method works best for them, and then we try and teach the material that way. If the student still isn't retaining the information, we try a new approach.

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

I use the text, real-world examples, any handouts or materials the student has, and if it is the online platform the whiteboard can be used.