What is your teaching philosophy?

I focus primarily on lots of practice questions as the best method of learning. I also believe that different classes require very different teaching methods as well, and will work to individualize the methods based on the student. For example, for Biology classes, we will focus on finding mnemonics and other ways of learning the vast majority of material, versus Physics classes where we will focus more on application and practice problems to better understand the fundamentals.

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

The first session will focus primarily on establishing what the student needs to learn and what methods they have been using up to this point. We will work together to determine which methods have been working and what new methods may be a good idea to try. We will then set out a plan for how we can work towards the student’s goals and how they would ideally like things explained.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

Most of the sessions will end with some sort of assignment for the student, so that they can figure out what they learned from the meeting and what they need more help with. The goal will be for the student to be able to identify their own weaknesses, and together we will overcome them.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

We will make a goal list at the beginning of the session, and as the student is able to cross off things, they will be able to see how much they have already accomplished, and hopefully they will want to continue to check off more things.

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

We would try to break down the concept into its simplest form to ensure the student knows the background behind the concept. The next step would be to go over a few problems, and then the student would need to teach me the concept back to make sure they understand it fully.

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

I think a great technique is the teach back method. After teaching a concept or practice problem, I would make a similar problem and have the student attempt it on their own. Once they have completed it, I would ask them to explain their thought process and why they did the things they did to arrive at their answer.

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

We would build up their confidence through the use of many practice problems. We can make sure that they know the concepts as well, and have them attempt more problems on their own so that they can come to the session ready to teach. Once they are explaining the concepts, then they fully understand it and will become more confident in presenting their knowledge.