Ashwin

What is your teaching philosophy?

Most students are visual learners, and thus giving them visual interpretations of abstract concepts helps develop a real understanding of the topic. This is where my strength lies.

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

First, I would gauge the current level of understanding and try to work my way up. The most common reason for difficulty in certain topics is lack of proper fundamentals.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

By giving the student a strong understanding of the core concepts and then showing them how to tackle the question and how to research on the topic.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

A calm, supportive environment with the addition of rewards helps a child stay motivated. But my goal would be to inspire them with the subject.

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

We would take a step back and review our fundamentals and then try different approaches for understanding the topic.

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

Practice makes perfect. Find books that the student enjoys that are at their reading level. In addition, go through different literary examples and analyze them with the student.

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

Going through practice problems and continuously raising the student's confidence.

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

Inspire them. Show real world applications of the subject and implications of the research.

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

Visual representations and analogies to explain abstract concepts. Guide students through practice problems until they can perform them individually.

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

Go through plenty of practice problems with the student, all the while slowly decreasing the amount of guidance until the student can do the problems on their own.

How do you evaluate a student's needs?

An assessment test and a verbal discussion of the topic that goes over the fundamentals in a deep sense.

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

I focus my attention where the student needs it the most. Whether that be in understanding, applying, or other general issues.

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

Books and online sources, along with drawings and physical objects, can all be used as supportive elements to the tutoring session.