Christopher
Certified Tutor
Undergraduate Degree: University of Hawaii at Manoa - Bachelors, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Music, guitar, kayaking, hiking
What is your teaching philosophy?
My teaching philosophy is that learning doesn't occur unless both the teacher and the student want it to occur.
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
In a first session I might ask the student to demonstrate their ability in the subject and/or ask the student to explain a concept to me to determine opportunities and the direction to take.
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
Becoming an independent learner is all about having motivation. Making a subject interesting and inspiring a desire to learn is the key to independent learning.
How would you help a student stay motivated?
Motivation come from having goals and from a genuine desire to do something. The goals have to be your own goals, not goals set by someone else.
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
If a student has difficulty with a particular concept I would typically ask some probing questions to try to determine where the difficulty comes from; in math, it is typically something fundamental that was learned a long time ago and forgotten, or never learned at all. Reintroducing a concept in such a way that it is as if the student and I are discovering it ourselves by logically working through the steps to arrive at the concept establishes a deep understanding.