What is your teaching philosophy?

Anyone can learn anything if they put in the proper effort, they just need positive encouragement, direction, and willingness to work hard. Break each problem into easy logical steps and solve each part, it takes the shock and fear away from solving complicated looking problems. Each person has different aspects of learning that they need to do on their own and aspects they need to be helped with. A good teacher will learn what these are for each student.

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

Talk to them to discover their learning style and needs. See if they are wanting to simple get help completing homework and study for test, or if they desire to gain a deep understanding of the course material. Introduce myself and share my teaching philosophy and style.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

Don't just help them solve problems. Teach them how to think about the different trains of thought for each area of learning, and how to dissect problems into easy achievable goals.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

Find out the reason they want to succeed in the first place and provide positive encouragement for that goal. Example, if a student cares about learning more than just doing the homework, I would tell them that I can see that their efforts are paying off and that I can tell they are understanding the course content well(if these things were true that is).

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

Talk to them to discover what the root of the problem is. Why is the concept hard to them and what skills or ideas can I share to remove that roadblock.

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

Give them a short passage and have them slowly read it. Then discuss the importance and implications of the passage. Explain that active thought must be taking place during reading to digest the material. Reading just to finish a page will not help you learn the topic. Finally lots of practice.

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

Just talk to them and see what their goals are and what learning style suits them best. Get to know them as a person to see where they are coming from.

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

Equate aspects of the learning topic to other areas of interest. Example, for a student who likes football but struggles with math. Make a game where they advance a football team of their choice across a field to score by answering math questions. The harder the question the farther their team advances up the field. This is more geared towards younger students but adults can be motivated by games as well. I would just have to get to know the student and understand what drives their passion.

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

In math and physics it is usually very clear how well students understand the topic. I do however favor evaluation techniques that prompt the student to create some on topic example, then explain it. Tests are help as a supplement, but not the best way in my opinion.

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

Always be constructive, even when giving helpful criticism. Point out the things the student needs to work on first and finish with the things they have improved on and are doing well. When a student is unsure to start give them problems to solve that are well within their comfort level to build up confidence and increase the difficulty from there.

How do you evaluate a student's needs?

I will continually ask what teaching styles and techniques are working for them and what things they feel like would help them understand more. It takes time to see what really works for each student.

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

Constant communication between student and tutor. If something is not working try a new idea. When a technique is working build upon it and develop that train of thought.

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

A pen and pad to work out examples visually is my go to material. I have a special pen that puts whatever I write on my pad up on my screen in real time.