Michael
Certified Tutor
Undergraduate Degree: University of California-Santa Barbara - Bachelor in Arts, English
Undergraduate Degree: University of California-Santa Barbara - Bachelor in Arts, Philosophy
Graduate Degree: Fuller Seminary - Masters, Divinity
Poetry, singing, science fiction, history, philosophy, politics, social commentary.
10th Grade Reading
10th Grade Writing
11th Grade Reading
11th Grade Writing
12th Grade Reading
12th Grade Writing
1st Grade Reading
1st Grade Writing
2nd Grade Reading
2nd Grade Writing
3rd Grade Reading
3rd Grade Science
3rd Grade Writing
4th Grade Reading
4th Grade Science
4th Grade Writing
5th Grade Reading
5th Grade Science
5th Grade Writing
6th Grade Reading
6th Grade Science
6th Grade Writing
7th Grade Reading
7th Grade Science
7th Grade Writing
8th Grade Reading
8th Grade Science
8th Grade Writing
9th Grade Reading
9th Grade Writing
Adult Literacy
Advertising
American Literature
AP US Government
AP US History
British Literature
College English
College Level American Literature
College World History
Comparative Literature
Elementary School Reading
Elementary School Science
Elementary School Writing
Ethics
Expository Writing
Fiction Writing
Greek
High School Chemistry
High School English
High School Level American Literature
High School World History
High School Writing
Homework Support
Honors
Introduction to Fiction
Journalism
Middle School Reading
Middle School Science
Middle School Writing
Other
Persuasive Writing
Poetry
Poetry Writing
Political Science
Shakespeare
Short Novel
Social Sciences
Study Skills
Study Skills and Organization
Summer
US Constitutional History
US History
Vocabulary
World Civilization
World History
World Literature
What is your teaching philosophy?
I think that motivation is the most important feature a successful teacher should have. Children have shorter attention spans, so if the teacher carries a careless attitude towards students, then they will not have much success learning. An excellent instructor should also have his/her students' trust. An example would be encouraging them to ask questions, after all, children have very curious minds. The teacher should also let students know that there are no dumb questions. I know that when I was in elementary school, I was very shy to ask questions, but when my grade school teachers assured me that there was no such thing as a dumb question, that eliminated some of my insecurity. Inadvertently, whether the teacher realizes this or not, it can gain the students' trust to come to him/her for anything. The final trait of a successful teacher, if not the most important trait, is to have passion for teaching. If one is in the field to get the summers and weekends off, or thinks that teaching is an easy job, success is a pipe-dream. There is a huge difference between having to be in the classroom versus wanting to be in it. Without passion, not only are we torturing ourselves and wasting our time, we are prohibiting the young generation from learning.
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
I believe that understanding is key to any educational success. This means not only making sure the student understands the work ahead of them in the first session, but also making sure I as the tutor understand the student: who they are and how they learn best. I want to partner with my students so that they understand from the beginning that we are in this together.
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
The most important facets of independent learning are encouraging the student's curiosities based on their own interests, encouraging questions from the students, and guiding the student to a correct form of learning through any steps that the student may feel natural.
How would you help a student stay motivated?
Cheerfulness, quirky humor, and consistent insight into their progress are just a few of the ways I help students stay motivated!
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
I would first make sure that the student and I are on the same page regarding said concept. Once that is established, drawing analogous parallels with which the student has already expressed interest is the most entertaining and efficient way to guide a student through a concept step-by-step.
How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?
We work together through a variety of sensory exercises. Auditory/visual stimulation and imagination of concepts are usually key to understanding anything in a passage. In addition, it is important not to burden a student with more than they can handle; to that end, "big picture" focus is important until details can be gained by the reader's attention.
What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?
Questions, questions, questions! This means not only asking questions of the students, but entertaining their own topical questions as well.
How would you help a student get excited/engaged with a subject that they are struggling in?
This is easy: prior interests! For example, if a student were struggling with geometric concepts, we might engage the student's prior interest in, say, baseball, to visualize the relevant shapes involved in a question.
What techniques would you use to be sure that a student understands the material?
Again, questions are absolutely paramount for issues such as this one. Questions not only engage the student, they also allow the student to realize what they do know and what they do not. Questions also keep the student from experiencing power-tripping shame or rapid correctional shock from others.
How do you build a student's confidence in a subject?
We work together to move through a subject step-by-step, concept-by-concept, and question-by-question. Moving at a student's comfortable pace, we encourage progress wherever it occurs, and tie it to relevant interests to keep the knowledge fresh and desirable.
How do you evaluate a student's needs?
Many times, a student's needs can be evaluated based on direct questions posed to the student in a relaxed manner. Oftentimes, however, the voicing of needs is not so forthright; in these times, outward displays and visual cues (for example, in body language when asked about a certain concept) can bring valuable insight.
How do you adapt your tutoring to the student's needs?
Simply put: a student's needs are matched quickly and responsively to tutoring methods. We might also call this "flexibility." For example, if a student is having trouble when being asked questions about a concept, it might be best to quickly move into demonstrating a simple example visually, then progressing to more difficult facets of the concept in question.
What types of materials do you typically use during a tutoring session?
It is paramount that a student be encouraged to engage any class-relevant materials first. This is because however well we may understand a concept, if an authority such as a teacher expects us to base it on their own class material, our understanding may fall short of expectation and be a waste of the student's time, not to mention disheartening for the student later. Apart from that, generally speaking, materials necessary for such things as illustrations, examples, anecdotes, colorful demonstrations, visual displays, etc., are used.