What is your teaching philosophy?

Follow your curiosity, never dare not to ask silly questions, start with simple concepts and build up on them like a tree growing.

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

Set up goals and a time frame, evaluate weaknesses and strengths, and establish a study schedule matching their individual learning style.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

Become a free thinker and actively use your knowledge to approach new challenges. Follow your fascination, not your teacher’s.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

Reward yourself for tasks well done, and allow some humor when it doesn't. Repeat the weakest sections first.

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

Paraphrase it, build a model, an analogy, an example.

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

Chop down long words into one syllable units, understand the root of the word, underline text units and make arrows showing which part refers to what.

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

An open, client-centered approach. Many students have already established their strategies to learn.

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

I would break down the problematic part into smaller tidbits and flavor them with reward.

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

Produce something actively with the new knowledge, like writing an essay, answering questions on q-banks, textbooks, or homework.

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

As you make progress, confidence steps up. How often do you need to fall until you can walk?