What is your teaching philosophy?

Bring multiple strategies for learning to the table from the beginning. Then work on tailoring the best approach for each student.

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

Ask the student about his/her goals and what she/he would like to accomplish through the session.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

Teach him/her strategies that can be used even when not tutoring.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

Provide helpful feedback and encouragement.

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

Reassure him/her that he/she has the skills to accomplish the task. Then try a different teaching method to see if that helps him/her learn the skill or concept.

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

Try reading aloud and reading in small chunks.

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

Get to know the student and find out what she/he feels are the best learning strategies for him/her.

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

Try helping him/her see how useful the concept may be using a practical example.

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

I would use one of the practice questions provided in the online platform and see if the student can answer the question without my help.

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

Reassurance and encouragement. I try to provide helpful feedback and give praise when the student does well.

How do you evaluate a student's needs?

I begin with asking the student. From there, I spend time working with the student and get a feel for he/she does well and what he/she needs to work on, based on what comes easy to him/her and what is more difficult.

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

If I try out a strategy and it doesn't seem to be helping the student understand the skill or concept, I change it up. I try something new.

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

I really like to use visual mapping techniques, especially when working on writing. I think that being able to visualize our ideas makes it easier for us to organize them and see where there are missing pieces.