What is your teaching philosophy?

My teaching philosophy is that practice makes perfect and discipline begets success.

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

In my first session with a student, I would work on getting to know the student's likes and dislikes as well as their weak points in order to promote better communication. This would in turn promote ease in working with the student.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

In order to ensure a student becomes an independent learner, I would work on teaching the student to utilize the tools available to him such as the internet, textbooks etc.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

I would help a student stay motivated by setting learning goals and checkpoints at every step. Also by helping that student establish a self-reward system.

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

If a student has difficulty learning a particular concept, I would start by breaking the concept down into smaller parts. I would follow up by providing real world examples of the problem where applicable.

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

I would help students with difficulties in comprehension by providing examples to aid in contextualization. Also giving them questions to follow up with subsequent to their completion of a text.

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

The strategies that I have found to be most successful with students is aiding the student in a problem and then supervising them as they work on one independently. An important method which has been seen to work is the use of visual representations.

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

I would help students get excited about a difficult subject by incorporating modern (pop) culture and promoting positive competition.

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

Questions at checkpoints or intervals are sure ways to ensure a student is grasping and retaining important information.

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

Interruption during the course of solving a problem has been shown to reduce a student's confidence in his or herself. Waiting until the student has attempted a question to the best of their ability before correction would be the remedy for this.

How do you evaluate a student's needs?

A student’s need may be effectively evaluated by their performance on low stake assessments such as work problems.

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

Homework, tests and assignments from various textbooks. Also, informative printouts where applicable.

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

I can effectively adapt my methods to a student's need by actively listening to their problems. Depending on their level of knowledge and understanding, I can change my tactics accordingly.