What is your teaching philosophy?

Learn your student first. Seek to understand first. Make your connection, teach and then change their life for the better.

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

Get to know the student. Learn their strengths, weaknesses, hobbies and interests. Find out where they are academically and where they need to be.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

Teach learning strategies (AKA survival strategies).

How would you help a student stay motivated?

Praise, praise, reward, and more praise.

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

Teach it a different way. Leave it alone and come back to it.

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

Start with the basics. Find the weak area or area with the most problems and strengthen them. Fluency building activities, read alouds, many discussions and instilling the 12 reading strategies.

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

Praise, motivation, constant reflection, reading body language... a lot of teacher modeling. The answer question relationship is big.

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

Introduce it with enthusiasm. Show how easy it is.

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

Define, teach, and ask for an example. Fill in the blank. Small assessment. Application of skill and newly learned material. First model (guided practice), self-practice, and then assess.

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

Constant praise, teach it a new way, relate it to something they love. Explain it in their own terms. Praise them for their efforts and reward them on their success.

How do you evaluate a student's needs?

Help and allow a student to complete an assessment on their own... through observation, paper and verbal assessment and application.

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

By reflection, learning what worked and adjust what didn't work to suit the student's learning style.

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

Flash cards, technology- such as computers or tablets, projector, paper, pencil, computer programs, etc.