What is your teaching philosophy?

Give the student the attention and freedom they need, help them to self-learn concepts so they have a more firm grasp and can self teach, and help them to develop a structure for their process.

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

Determine their level of commitment to the learning process, their current study habits, and their current level of mastery regarding the subject material, paying attention to their personality to best meet their needs.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

Help them develop confidence, study habits, and a learning process. This means making sure they understand for themselves the core concepts and don't merely accept what I say.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

Encourage them that they are able to succeed, challenge them to spend the time, and help them troubleshoot. I'd also relay to them my own struggles along the learning process.

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

Take the time they need if it's a core concept, add illustrations, and relate it to practical ideas with which they are already familiar. Besides that, go back a step. Functionality can hide conceptual errors.

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

Go slowly, re-explain the passage using different language, define any unknown words, relate it to already understood examples, release tension (a humorous anecdote--the cheesier the better, a victory they recently had, etc.).

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

Take the first few sessions to both instruct and really discover what works for their learning. Don't push until they are comfortable with you. Make sure they are committed to the process and believe in their potential success.

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

First, be excited. The world is super cool, and understanding is incredible. Then, relate the subject to things they care about. I love the real-life physics in the anime one-piece. Finally, be excited about the process of learning and what that will do to the student in the future

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

Have them without aid perform work satisfactorily, have them explain core concepts and techniques to me, and have them take mock tests or material and review it.

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

Show them how they got it right even if the answer was wrong. Help them clearly see what was wrong so they don't exaggerate their failure. Remind them of what they did well and how good it really was. Put mistakes in perspective. Generally praise good work and create situations where they do good work.

How do you evaluate a student's needs?

Based on what is needed to do well for them. I learn their needs as an individual for that subject and the requirements of the class, and where they are in their understanding currently compared to where they need to be or go. I'm always encouraging them to surpass their goals.

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

Some students learn better with process. Others need a focus on procedure or concept. The biggest difference is what level of the material we focus on when learning. I try to have the level that they learn best at be the core during the learning process and then expand to the other areas. The other thing is some students require more encouragement than others. I make sure they all have a time to succeed, but for some, I set up the process so they go a little slower but have more victory during our time together. Confidence is equally important to competence when it comes to performing well.

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

It depends on the material. I will use the assigned textbook (almost always) and teacher notes and study aids. And if possible, recently graded work to review is nearly always helpful. Besides that, some students can use creative examples, like physically holding a banana and an orange. Once I had a student physically go to a location between sessions and observe. Online videos can be wonderful for the right situation, and I'll also often use illustrations or examples to help them learn technique or process.