What is your teaching philosophy?

Every student has different motivations and areas in which they excel. I would like to help students find methods that work with them to increase comprehension of subjects they are weaker in.

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

Talk to the student to determine where their strengths and weaknesses lie.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

By helping students to recognizing what strategies work for them and when they have gone off target.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

By finding aspects of the field that interest the individual student and by sticking to a structured schedule.

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

Try approaching the subject matter from a different angle. I may put the concept down and come back to it later.

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

Sometimes a student is struggling with the raw amount of words on a page. I would use a "reading window" to help take the story one sentence at a time.

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

Talking about the time the student puts into a subject and having realistic expectations of comprehension if the time isn't sufficient.

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

Find any part of the subject that they like. A student may not find plant cells interesting. So how about after the student is able to label a plant cell we talk about why a dog has a hard time finding a red ball in green grass?

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

I would quiz the student in a conversational format.

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

By recognizing correct answers instead of just recognizing incorrect answers.

How do you evaluate a student's needs?

By talking about the student’s strengths and weaknesses in a subject with the student, parents, and teachers.

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

By constantly evaluating what is working and what isn't working.

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

Textbook, pictures, flashcards, YouTube.