What is your teaching philosophy?

Assess what the student knows and build from there. What they know isn't just tied to the specific subject being studied, but also what they know outside the classroom. Using this information to create examples that incorporate familiar subjects or ideas makes the learning experience easier and more enjoyable for the student.

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

Talk to them and get to know them as a person. Due to an age gap I share with most students, I try to talk about my siblings or cousins that are younger, and are studying the same things so as to show them I am familiar with the situation that they are in. Finding out the hobbies and likes of the student is also important. And when I feel the student is at ease, I ask them what they have been learning in school and what they feel they need to focus on. Depending on the answers, I create examples or use an assessment to get more information.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

Creating goals with the student that are easily attainable at first. After accomplishing the simple goals, we would create others that require more work. Having felt the sense of accomplishment that comes with achieving a goal, and the student should have the drive to learn independently to reach the new goals.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

Set simple goals and achieve them together. Adding difficultly to the process of achieving goals will help the student learn while being motivated to hit a certain goal. Also developing a reward system can be helpful, whether that means I bring in his/her favorite food one day (with the parents' permission, of course) or give them a shorter assignment when compared to the normal workload.

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

Create an example and liken it to something happening in their life. Additionally, break that problem down with them, writing a step-by-step guide to solving the problem. Following that, use the example step-by-step guide to solve another problem together, with the student taking the lead.

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

If the student is struggling to understand content, but they know synonyms to the words they are struggling with, then explaining those synonyms is key; this should be followed by the student keeping a running list of those words. If the problem lies in grasping a concept or subject, personalizing or likening the subject to what the student knows is key.