What is your teaching philosophy?

It is important to actively listen to students to understand where they are coming from with their struggles. It is also important to ask strategic, pointed questions of students to help them arrive at conclusions on their own.

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

Spend time having the student articulate their struggles, past strategies, and what has and hasn't worked for them in the past. From there I would engage the student in some practice problems, asking the student to show me how they would normally solve the problem so I can understand their current thought-process.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

Rather than lecturing at students, it is important to ask strategic, pointed questions that are geared towards allowing the student to arrive at conclusions on their own.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

It is important to break study sessions into small chunks with breaks in between to increase a student's focus. I would also incorporate games into the session, from drawing pictures to help understand concepts to constructing silly, fun mnemonics to help memorize information.

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

I would begin by having the student articulate their current understanding of the concept. From there I would consider approaching the concept in a different way, using drawings and analogies.

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

It is important to begin by having the student read out-loud to engage their auditory skills. I would encourage the student to find the main point of each paragraph to help them summarize information in their head. I would also incorporate effective reading strategies, such as using one's finger to trace one's place in the passage.

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

I believe it would be most helpful to spend a good amount of time observing how the student is currently approaching studying in order to understand the student's current mindset. I would also try to evaluate the student to see if they are primarily an auditory, visual, or tactile learner.

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

I would try to put the subject into context for them and their life. For instance, I would help make the Revolutionary War exciting for a student by getting them to imagine what it would be like to be a kid their age growing up during the war and how that would affect their day to day life.

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

Teach-back is a huge tool both for evaluation of understanding and for helping the student solidify their knowledge. I would have my student teach back the information to me in the method of their choosing, whether that be in drawing form, writing form, speaking form, or presentation form.

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

Praise for improvement is critical. I would keep a log of the student's progress to remind them of how far they have come over time. It is also important to remind students that there are many different ways to learn different material, and I would do my best to help my student find the learning style that works the best for them.

How do you evaluate a student's needs?

Observing the student working on some problems in his/her current method is critical for understanding how the student is currently approaching studying, and how and where they will need help.

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

It is important to have a good understanding of different learning styles in order to be able to adapt to different student's styles.

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

I think that drawing with colored paper, highlighters, and colored pencils is important for many learners, especially visual learners. Some learners may even benefit from clay and making models to demonstrate concepts.