What is your teaching philosophy?

Practice makes perfect.

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

Understand what the student's goals are for the material/class/test, diagnose at what level the student understands the material, and create a plan on how the student and I may work to achieve the student's goals.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

I can help students become independent learners by helping them develop work ethic and study habits. Giving additional problems to students to practice on their own between sessions can help them improve their study habits, their work ethic, and further help them to becoming independent learners.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

Different students are motivated in different ways; this is something that should be determined during the first session with the student. For example, people with a very determined personality may be better motivated by setting up a series of goals that they must work on to accomplish. By accomplishing goals set (ex: get above a 650 on the Math SAT II) students can monitor their progress and stay motivated. Most importantly though for all students, they should enjoy what they are doing and learning. Once a student stops enjoying what they are working on, then staying motivated becomes exponentially more difficult.

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

Begin by understanding which skill or concept in particular the student does not understand. Then take extra time to help better explain the particular skill or concept to the student, and do more practice problems containing this particular skill or concept.

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

Go through each chapter section by section at a pace set by the student so that they have enough time to understand all of the material.

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

Simulate a practice test with the student that would be similar to what they should expect on a normal test, and see how well they perform. If a student is able to pass it without any problems, then they understand the material sufficiently.

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

Read and practice the material until the student is able to clearly explain it on their own and can do any problems without the assistance of someone else.

How do you evaluate a student's needs?

I evaluate a student’s needs by understanding what the goals and skills of a student are, and then help them work on where they are struggling in order to help them achieve their goals.

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

The textbook and class notes the student has are the best materials to use when tutoring because then you learn exactly what the student's teacher is teaching and at what pace. If the tutoring is for outside of the class, then ACT/SAT prep books are very useful since they are full of practice problems similar to what the student should be expecting.

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

I would help the student overcome their struggles so the subject they are learning becomes less difficult and more exciting as they progress; this would also make the student engage more in the material.

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

Tutoring styles should be different for students with different learning styles. There are five different learning styles; visual, logical, verbal, physical, and aural. I would work with the student to best understand what kind of learner they are and adapt my tutoring style to their learning style.

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

When first starting to work with a student, I find that it is very important to establish a connection of friendship with the student so that they feel comfortable with the tutor. That way if they ever are struggling with a concept, problem, or have a question, they do not hesitate to ask the tutor, even if it is outside of the tutoring session. This would also help the tutor better understand where the student's struggles are arising from, and it would also allow the tutor to teach the material more efficiently and dedicate more time to sections of the material where the student has problems.