What is your teaching philosophy?

Always take a patient approach. Students looking for a tutor are doing so because they are having difficulty; understanding this and moving at the pace that they learn is very important.

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

Figuring out where the student is at is the first step. Asking a few questions and learning what they know is crucial - from there I can target what they don't, and begin to work with them.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

I can teach them good habits, where they might find additional resources to answer questions they might have, and how to work their way through problems on their own by taking multiple approaches to a single question.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

Showing that you're knowledgeable and that you're there for the student can be relieving for them. Let them know they can contact you with any questions and do your best to let them know they are capable and can succeed!

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

I would take it slow, and make different approaches. I'd walk through multiple examples that cover the concept, and find different ways to explain it until I find one that my student clicks with and take it from there.

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

Learning becomes much less stressful and more enjoyable when the student is making some sort of progress and they feel like they aren't working for nothing. This is why it's very critical to identify quickly how the student best learns and get them moving forward again.

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

Some of the best techniques involve problems that relate to the real world. A lot of people struggle with math (for example) because they think they may never use it, but applying it to something the student is already interested in tends to cement ideas better than arbitrary problems.

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

It's important to make sure the student knows that they're progressing. Staying positive and letting them know that you can see their improvement and their progression is primarily how it is going to be done, in addition to a better performance overall.

How do you evaluate a student's needs?

You ask them questions and have them answer problems given to them. Observing these is typically enough.

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

Learning to be flexible is very important. Try to teach different ways. Be the teacher that they need you to be, and you'll have the most success.

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

I have a good-sized whiteboard that I like to keep handy. It's really good for trying to explain concepts and way easier to work around than typical college ruled paper and pencil.

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

Tell them to take it slower and make sure they understand what they're reading as it is being read. Don't move forward until you understand the context, and if there are words you don't understand and can't figure out based on the situation, look them up.

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

Being friendly and polite tends to give me the best success. Starting off the relationship as a friend helping a friend complete a task, rather than being the guy that's there for a very strictly finite amount of time then bailing does no one any good. I'll be there to try to provide my student with the best results possible, and to do that, you have to be there for them.