What is your teaching philosophy?

I believe in building off of what students already know. If you can find a place to ground the new information they will remember it better. In practice this means asking lots of questions and sometimes letting the student be the teacher.

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

I like to spend a little time getting to know the student and what some of their interests are. Then we'll usually jump right into the material and I will ask lots of questions throughout the session to figure out what teaching style works best.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

I like to let them try whatever they are working on first before we talk through it. I encourage lots of questions and always check in with how the student is feeling about the subject. I love when students ask to do additional problems and provide enough flexibility for them to choose what we work on.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

I think that setting specific goals is helpful. Also, whenever possible, I like to connect concepts to students’ interests.

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

I would try to modify my teaching to reflect their learning style. I think that repetition of concepts is helpful. Sometimes if a student is getting frustrated, however, it is better to take a break and work on something else for a little while before coming back.

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

I think that it is sometimes easy for students to just do the school work they have and lose sight of why they are doing it or what it means. Giving their work meaning usually helps students become more engaged. In practice this often involves finding more exciting applications of their subject. For example, I was working with a middle school student on math. He didn't find the subject to be fun or useful. At the end of the session we had some extra time so I introduced him to the four color theorem and challenged him to draw a map that required more than four colors to fill in. All of a sudden he was completely engaged.