Christopher

What is your teaching philosophy?

Mathematics is conceptual. Many teachers focus on computation, which many students struggle to keep track of all the details of. By teaching the conceptual framework that underlies the computation, rote memorization becomes unnecessary.

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

When I meet a student for the first time, I like to take a look at the syllabus, the table of contents of the book they are using, and a recent test, if they have one. I also like to ask questions about their current understanding.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

The best way to learn mathematics, either with a tutor or by oneself, is to focus on concepts.

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

If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, I normally ask them to explain related concepts as well as they can to me.

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

When I start working with a student, I find that they often enjoy hearing about the underlying structure that makes the math they are learning work.

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

To be sure that a student understands the material, I ask them to work on a problem by themselves.