What is your teaching philosophy?

My teaching philosophy is that of helping students help themselves. I seek not only to teach students new material, but also to teach new ways of learning.

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

I would go over the concepts that they are having most difficulty with and create a study plan on which to better understand those concepts.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

I can teach them how to utilize resources in order to understand material they are struggling with.

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

I would first like to get to know them as a person, and to be able to understand their learning style.

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

I would give them real-world analogies, as well as some of the applications of subjects they are struggling with.

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

I would go over many practice problems with them, and make sure they understand every part of the question.

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

Tell them the things they excel in, and then follow with things they can improve on. When they do improve on those things, then I'd let them know about it.

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

I would use practice problems, as well as mnemonic devices to help understand concepts.

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

I would ask them to analyze the piece in small parts, rather than going at all of it at once.

How do you evaluate a student's needs?

I would give them practice problems to work on, and see which areas they struggle with.

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

I am a hands-on learner, so I would try to create a situation where my teaching style and their learning style is complementary.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

I would tell them strategies that I use to stay motivated. I would also tell them about times where I struggled initially but then persevered.

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

I would try to help explain the concept in a way that they could understand.