What is your teaching philosophy?

My philosophy of education is such that I would like to teach every child so that they learn to the best of their ability and to use every tool I can think of that helps the child learn in his/her own way. I believe that it is necessary for everyone to learn to read so that they are able to understand all subjects and can become good citizens who contribute their gifts to society to make the world a better place for everyone.

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

I would introduce myself, tell the student a little about myself and my family. I would ask the student to introduce themselves and tell me about their interests. I would talk about the child's strengths and weaknesses in the subject being tutored, and if the subject is reading, I would ask the student what types of stories they would like to read according to their personal interests.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

A child can become an independent learner by first of all, establishing trust with the teacher. The teacher helps the student by providing instructional support. It isn't enough to simply change the kinds of tasks the student is required to do or make them more difficult. The student must decide why the strategy works and how to engage them on their own. Once the student learns how to do this, they will be able to become an independent learner.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

I would find out what the student's interests are and base the lessons around his/her interests. In reading, books that are interesting to the student with colorful pictures within the books are particularly appealing. When a student is interested, learning takes place.

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

If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, such as in reading, I would help the student by teaching the concept by choosing subjects that are interesting to the student. In reading, if they were having problems with comprehension, for example, I would start by reading a story and then break it down into sections with understanding the vocabulary words within the story and talking about the main idea of the story. I would progress to a writing assignment after reading the story where the student writes about the concept of the story and uses the vocabulary words within the written explanation.

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

I guess I answered this question in the prior answer. I would start by reading a story, dissecting it into parts, talking about the vocabulary words, and assign a writing assignment afterward explaining the main idea of the story.

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

I have found that getting to know a student as well as their interests establishes trust and self confidence with the student. Once trust is established, it is easy to work with a student on the things he/she is interested in.

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

I would talk with the student by finding out his/her interests and working with the subject within the realm of his/her interests. I would guide the student by giving examples related to things he/she is interested in such as in math. I would relate a problem to the student's interests. For example, if a student lives on a farm, the problem could be related to the animals on the farm, etc. For example, if farmer Brown has 10 cows and 15 pigs, how many animals does he have altogether.

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

I would always ask questions after an assignment was done to show if the student understood what was taught. I would also use written tests to see if the student is able to answer the questions correctly.

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

I know that a student becomes more confident by learning more and more about a subject. The more knowledge the student obtains, the more confidence is gained, so it is important to have repetition and go over the lessons more than once only in a different way.

How do you evaluate a student's needs?

I know there are tests that can evaluate a student's needs, but the teacher can also tell a lot by talking to the student and assessing his/her needs that way. I would hope that the student's teacher at school would provide the tutor with lessons they are working on in the classroom so that the tutor and classroom teacher can work together toward a common goal. I would want to talk with the classroom teacher.

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

I would need to find out the student's interests and needs. Once again, it would be important to talk with the classroom teacher so that the tutor and teacher can plan together to help the student the best way possible.

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

In reading, I use books that provide good literature and vocabulary for students and that are of interest to the student and their grade level. I use anything possible to help a student understand.