What is your teaching philosophy?

I believe that learning can be fun for anyone as long as the material is relevant and interesting. I believe that it is my job as a teacher and tutor is to get to know my student's personal interests and learning preferences to help him or her succeed.

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

In the first session, I would hope to spend time getting to know one another before jumping into academics. I would plan activities to learn about one another's interests and passions, the student's preferred learning styles, and to set goals for our future tutoring sessions.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

I believe that success starts with the individual. You do not have to be the smartest student in your class to succeed, but you do need to possess skills that contribute to achievement, including: organization, confidence, perseverance, and the ability to think critically. In addition to helping you learn academic content, I can help you develop the skills to be a more independent learner.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

I think motivation is something that needs to be learned and practiced. Sometimes motivation is extrinsic, and other times it's intrinsic. Motivation is driven by the goal setting process-- without expectations or goals, there would be no need for motivation. It is my job as a high school guidance counselor to help students realize their potential and to support them in the step by step process of developing and accomplishing their goals. I help students stay motivated by celebrating small victories, reminding them to believe in themselves, and challenging them to step outside of their comfort zones.

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

Everyone learns differently. I believe it is the tutor's job to help the student discover how he or she learns best, and to try as many different learning modalities as necessary until one clicks for the student. I also believe that we learn best when we feel connected or interested in the content, so as the tutor, I would try to make the information as relevant to the student's life as possible.

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

When I work with a student who is struggling with reading comprehension, I first like to assess their fluency. If the student is struggling to read a passage quickly and correctly, it is almost certain that they will not comprehend what they've just read. If fluency is not the issue, I try the following: chunking the text, close reading/annotating, identifying known and unknown vocabulary, etc. If the student is a visual learner, I would utilize a graphic organizer. If the student is an auditory learner, I would read the text out loud first and have them read it out after me. I would also try to select passages that are relevant to the student's life in order to increase interest in the reading.

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

I think it is incredibly important to have a personal connection between the student and the tutor. I have found that I am most successful with students when we are invested and interested in one another's lives. I believe that once you get to know a student, you begin to understand their learning styles and preferences, which helps immensely in supporting them academically.