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

First, I want to get to know the student, and build a rapport and trust with them so we can build a good working relationship. Then, I would evaluate the current understanding of the student and establish goals of the student, as well as some techniques that they like.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

Slowly provide less and less assistance so that they become more reliant on themselves, but learn techniques that will help them with the material. This will give them confidence in themselves and be an independent learner.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

Create a reward system such as a star chart, per se. The more stars the student receives, the better reward they will receive. We will establish what rewards will be, such as playing a specific game or doing an activity that the student enjoys. This will be determined on a student per student basis. I will also determine what the goals of the student are and remind them how they are working towards these goals by staying on task and motivated.

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

I will come up with multiple examples so that the student can see patterns of the concept. I will also try and make a metaphor for the student to see another perspective of the example.

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

I will come up with questions for the student to answer after reading. I will have the questions be for a shorter length of time if they continue to struggle so they can focus on the information they have read. I will also come up with games based on the reading for the student.

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

Continuously going over examples to reinforce the information. Also, using games to help the student enjoy the process of learning and make them want to continue with our lessons.

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

Constantly provide excitement and enthusiasm during our lessons so they are engaged. I also put a heavy emphasis on getting to know the student so we build a strong rapport and have pleasant exchanges.

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

Go through a sentence and identify each word part to get an understanding of what the sentence is about. Then review if there are any issues in the sentence to test their understanding of grammar. I would make flashcards for vocabulary. We would use the vocab we discuss to guide the conversations that we have and to improve the student’s speaking skills.

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

Create exercises that increase in difficulty. The previous successes of the student will provide them with confidence once the exercises become more difficult. I will also consistently give the student positive reinforcement to make them feel good about their abilities and create a safe learning environment.

How do you evaluate a student's needs?

I would have a conversation with the student and the parents about what the student hopes to achieve. Once I know that, I can build tests to see how far along the student is with the subject and properly evaluate them.

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

I will ask them initially how they like to learn and take notes based on my observations with the student. If the student is auditory learner for example, I could record some of my lessons so the student could review the material in a way that is effective for them.

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

I use flashcards, written assessments, recordings of myself repeating lessons and workbooks.

What is your teaching philosophy?

I am very hands-on and will be very active with my students. I want to have them clearly articulate what they have learned, and for them to do well on the assessments I will provide them. I will carefully monitor of all their scores and ensure they are learning at a proper rate.