What is your teaching philosophy?

The best teachers guide, motivate, and explain, explain, explain. All students want to feel accomplished and successful, and my role is to help you reach that goal.

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

A first session involves a lot of questions: what do you know about the subject? What can you tell me about the work, the subject matter, or the grading scale? Questions like this help me understand where the student is starting. I can adapt to their level and we can work quickly from there.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

I explain to students different ways they can use their planners or calendars to their benefit. I help them set due dates and action steps that increase their chances of success; soon, they are setting their own due dates and inform me of upcoming tests without me asking.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

Success is a great motivator. I make sure the student has opportunities for success throughout the tutoring session.

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

I have numerous analogies available for different topics. These are helpful when a topic needs to be represented differently. Also, breaking down content into small, manageable steps helps build a strong foundation which supports difficult topics.

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

First, I would use a lot of questions to determine where the difficulty lies. Then, we use strategies together to strengthen those areas of weakness. Using titles in a passage, using the answers to multiple choice tests, and asking questions throughout the reading process have been successful tools for me.

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

When I first work with a student, I find out what their experience has been with school, with the subject in general, and with this particular class. I ask them to describe their strengths, weaknesses, and goals for the tutoring so that we can make a plan together for their success.

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

A student can always find motivation by setting personal goals: to pass a class, to increase their GPA, to increase their understanding, to stay involved in sports, etc. I ask what their goals are and help them set goals that make the work worthwhile.

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

I can test a student's understanding by asking them to explain their steps to me. I ask them to tell me why they used a certain strategy, or to explain why one answer is correct while another answer is wrong.

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

Success builds confidence. I point out the things the student does correctly as we work on problems so that they are building confidence throughout a session.

How do you evaluate a student's needs?

Setting goals can determine future needs, such as passing a test or class or getting a certain score on a test. Asking open-ended questions helps me determine comprehension.

How do you adapt your tutoring to the student's needs?

Tutoring is not about the instructor showing one best method of doing something; it is about finding out what the student knows, what they need to know, and explaining in a way that meets their needs.

What types of materials do you typically use during a tutoring session?

A tutoring session can include mini-lecture/explanations; written problems; practice problems; examples from various sources; and a list of outside resources the student can use on their own to increase understanding.