What is your teaching philosophy?

It is one where I intend not only to teach the subject but to teach students how to learn and build independence. Through positive reinforcement and goal development, as well as being able to be flexible as a tutor, we can achieve the student’s goal.

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

Create a level of comfort between student and tutor. Also establish goals and then break down those goals into easy to accomplish steps.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

Positive reinforcement goes a long way in creating that independence. Also not only teaching the subject but teaching learning techniques and study techniques, and giving them those tools, is essential to creating independence. It's not about giving them the answers, but more about helping them find the path to the right answer.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

It requires the student to identify why they want/need to achieve. That is the first part of creating motivation. The second part comes with setting and achieving goals. Breaking down the goals into small achievable chunks helps to create success and incentive to stay motivated.

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

It is imperative to be flexible. If you find one approach to teaching not working you must change approaches. Patience is key with those who are struggling.

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

A lot of times it comes down to simply asking them to tell you about what they read. Simply reducing it to a simple explanation allows comprehension. Other techniques are to have them write down specific aspects of what they read as they are reading it.

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

Establishing expectations and goals.

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

By creating a connection to the material. Often this can be done through tying it to the student’s life experiences. Also a passionate tutor/teach can instill that passion into others.

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

Ultimately I look to see if they can teach me the information at the end. This way I can confidently say that they understand. But before this happens we walk through the subject making sure they can get themselves to the right answers.

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

Positive reinforcement helps create confidence, but also the ability for the student to get to the answer and understand why is important.

How do you evaluate a student's needs?

A lot of the time I observe and ask pointed questions.

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

Once again, flexibility is crucial. I pride myself on patience and adaptability.

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

Pen/Pencil and paper are always essentials. "Manipulators" are very successful with younger students, especially with math, to increase their understanding of materials and anchor it.