What is your teaching philosophy?

Every student is different, so I believe in patience and gentle guidance. I try to use the student's own curiosity and knowledge base to get through difficult problems.

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

I like to take the first 15 minutes to hear about the problem from the student's own mouth. I also try to learn about their interests to find ways to make the subject matter more appealing. Then as we first dive into the problem or issue area, I let the student show me how they normally approach the problem so that I can observe where any hang-ups may lay.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

I use a three part method. First, I have the student read me the problem, and I work through most of it. This means that I lead/do 80% of the problem so they may understand what steps are required as I guide them through the remaining 20%. Second, I let the student work with me. I guide them and jump in as they work. Here I do about 40% of the work, as I remind them of the steps I had taken previously. Finally, I let the student do the work themselves, without my help until the end of the problem. Here the student has learned the steps of how, and also learned how to do the problem without me. After this, depending on the topic, I let the student come up with problems to stump me. This can show they truly understand the problem. I then walk through the steps again to solidify the steps through repetition.