What is your teaching philosophy?

I believe that the goal of teaching is not only to provide the student with a deeper understanding of the subject matter, but also to foster a technique for solving problems that resonates with the student.

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

I would spend my first session firstly getting to know the student personally and making sure he or she is settling into a comfortable learning environment. Next I would start by going over a summary of the subject matter and try to get a feel for where the student feels his or her weak and strong points are. Finally, we would get started with some basic material and build up from there at a pace that is comfortable for the student.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

Helping a student develop better basic study skills and routines is often the best way to help foster independent learning skills. However if a student is struggling to grasp concepts in a particular area, it would be better to help the student approach problems from a different perspective in order to change the students method of problem solving.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

Setting attainable short term and long-term goals is a great way to keep students motivated. Whether the goal is to get at least a B on the next assignment, or to go to college to be an engineer, goals will help the student feel accomplished with short term goals, and keep their eye on the prize with long term ones.

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

Based on the student's preferred learning method, If he or she was struggling with a skill of concept, I would firstly try and assess what, if any, prerequisite skills the student is lacking in order to learn the new concept. Often times learning a new concept is difficult when the groundwork behind the concept is not well reinforced. Another approach to a student struggling with a concept would be to simply attack it from an entirely different angle that may better fit his or her learning style.

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

While tutoring reading comprehension is not my forte, I would help a struggling student to take better notes and study the vocabulary. Many students struggle to read math textbooks due to the elevated vocabulary in some contexts. If the student is not very familiar with the terms of a chapter, most math material is cumulative and the student will struggle even more with the next chapter. My suggestions for note taking and vocabulary would be to make note-cards, and to learn the Cornell note taking system.

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

When I first start working with a student, I find it very important to make sure the student is in a comfortable learning environment. To do this, I would allocate a short period of time to introduce myself and try to get to know the student. Often a common interest or background may allow the student to feel more comfortable during the first session. Next, I will allow the student to self-assess his or her weaknesses and strengths pertaining to the content to gain a better understanding of the student's abilities. From there, I can learn through trial and error the student's learning preferences that I could better cater to.