What is your teaching philosophy?

My teaching philosophy is that we are students all our lives. I believe teaching must be personal, and lessons should have intentional meanings that answer essential questions.

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

In a first session, I would bring any materials I might need. I would talk to the student to get to know them and what they need help on. Then we would work on subject matter, and I could get to know how the student responds to different ways of teaching. From this, I would be prepared to go forward in the following sessions to come.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

I can help students become more independent learners by teaching them strategies to use in solving a variety of problems, and to concentrate on teaching understanding and meaning of concepts, not just "what the answer is." I can also teach them about tools such as planners and charts to establish their own routines and practices that they must have ownership of.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

To help a student stay motivated I have found that the most important aspect is to keep it interesting and relevant. I also think that many students get unmotivated or discouraged with themselves and they just need to be made aware that the learning processes is a process. The most important things we learn are things that we may struggle with.

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

If a student has difficulty earning a skill or concept I would try to assess the most productive and personal way to connect that concept or skill with them. I would try a variety of approaches.

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

I help students who are struggling with reading comprehension by playing many games. I think that there are so many fun literacy resources that are so fun and help a student's reading comprehension.