William
Certified Tutor
Undergraduate Degree: Morgan State University - Current Undergrad, Mathematics
Football, Math, Poetry, Food
What is your teaching philosophy?
There is no such thing as a bad student. There are only unmotivated ones and it is a teacher and tutor's responsibility to motivate them to learn.
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
Get to know them to figure out what they like and how they prefer to learn something.
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
Don't coddle them during the learning process. Help them when they need it but challenge them to think for themselves instead of following specific guidelines.
How would you help a student stay motivated?
There are a lot of ways to do that so it really depends on the student but I'd probably starts with small incentives.
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
I'd break it down for them slowly and explain each part of the concept to them. A lot of times it isn't that they don't know what to do they just don't understand why it works so they get confused.
How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?
I would get them to read books about things they are interested in for practice that way they can have fun and learn in the process.
What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?
Example problems and homemade assessments really help with repetition so that students can remember the process.
How would you help a student get excited/engaged with a subject that they are struggling in?
I try to relate the topic to something they are excited about.
What techniques would you use to be sure that a student understands the material?
I would help walk them through example problems and give them easier versions of problems to practice on.
How do you build a student's confidence in a subject?
I would start off with the easy stuff and gradually move up to more difficult problems.
How do you evaluate a student's needs?
Talking with the student and getting to know them helps. Also a preliminary test to see what specific areas they are struggling in helps as well.
How do you adapt your tutoring to the student's needs?
I will be patient and willing to work and grow with the student so that they can get the best help possible.
What types of materials do you typically use during a tutoring session?
Materials I use include calculators, lots of scratch paper, pencils, snacks, and activities.