James
Certified Tutor
Undergraduate Degree: Siena College - Bachelors, Biology, General
Graduate Degree: NYITCOM - Current Grad Student, Medicine
Enjoys bike riding, rock climbing, and outdoors.
Anatomy & Physiology
College Biology
High School Biology
Pharmacology
What is your teaching philosophy?
Alexandra Trenfor once said "the best teachers tell you where to look but don't tell you what to see." Much in the same manner, my approach to teaching is to provide students with the necessary tools and insight such that they will be able to excel in their studies and accomplish their goals.
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
Establish a baseline for the student, and then identify areas that can be improved upon.
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
At the end of each session, I will ask the student to summarize what they think the key points of the session were. They will then pick one point and try to identify how they can further improve in that area. In this manner the student will be able to identify important topics and also develop critical analytical thinking.
How would you help a student stay motivated?
Try to make learning fun. Often a great deal of what is taught is done so in a very dry approach. Making learning fun helps reduce the stress burden students may feel from attempting to further their studies.
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
When a student is having difficulty understanding a topic, I will try to revisit the foundational aspects of that subject. This is important for two reasons. The first is that it helps the student regain their confidence and lessen any frustration that may have developed due to not understanding a particular concept. It also allows us to reapply a foundational aspect to this topic. Doing this essentially simplifies it to the bare-bone components. I have found that when a difficult topic is simplified down to the foundational components, students are then able to understand why the concept in question is an extension of the building blocks of a field.
What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?
I have found that by going through a test or question set that was administered through their school allows me to see their baseline. I do this by seeing what questions the student had difficulty with. This then gives me an idea into what topics they are unable to understand. I am also then able to ask the student why they chose a particular question and their thought process, which is helpful moving forward.
How would you help a student get excited/engaged with a subject that they are struggling in?
I have always thought learning should be fun. If a student is struggling in a topic, learning is anything but joyful. To re-engage and excite a student, I try to make learning fun by creating games out of the material.
What techniques would you use to be sure that a student understands the material?
I like to have the students respond to short answer questions that summarize the topics we have reviewed that day. I also have them, in their own words, express what they think were the stronger aspects of the session and where we can improve on in the next session.
How do you build a student's confidence in a subject?
I build confidence by giving praise when they answer questions correctly and also refer back to times when they did not and now are. This exemplifies their improvement. Also, when they do not answer correctly, I have them talk me through their thought process and use constructive criticism and never belittle their learning process.
How do you adapt your tutoring to the student's needs?
I have always believed that students should be the drivers of their own learning. I like to take a few topics that I think the student needs improvement in and then discuss these topics with the student and why I believe there is opportunity for improvement in these areas. I then ask the student if they agree and if there are any other areas they feel can be improved upon. When we come to an agreement, I help assist in this process. Then every 3-4 sessions I ask the student how they feel about the topics we had agreed upon and if they think there should be an adjustment into what we are covering.
What types of materials do you typically use during a tutoring session?
I prefer having the students using practice problems/in class assignments between sessions and then going through them at the beginning of each session. Then, I provide a few questions that are pertinent to the areas we will be working on that day. After the student has had time to answer the pre-session quiz, I review the material with them, highlighting the key points, as well as areas that they struggled in with the pre-session quiz. I then provide a post-session quiz that helps them solidify the areas we had covered during that session.