Peiwen
Certified Tutor
Undergraduate Degree: Shanghai Normal University - Bachelors, English Education
Graduate Degree: University of Massachusetts-Boston - Masters, Education Administration
Asian culture; language tutoring; singing; J-pop
College English
Conversational Mandarin
High School English
Mandarin Chinese 1
Mandarin Chinese 3
Mandarin Chinese 4
What is your teaching philosophy?
I believe every student is special and needs personalized teaching method. It is more important to teach students how to be a lifelong learner with a critical mind.
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
I would love to know a child personality, background, interest and current level. I prefer to make a learning schedule together with the child in a first session.
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
Asking thought provoking questions, assigning challenging work related with the student's, life and teaching with scaffolding skills would help the student become an independent learner.
How would you help a student stay motivated?
I would adjust the teaching material and content according to the student's needs. Students would be motivated when the assignment is related to them, and is challenging but not too difficult.
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
I would identify the problem and adjust my teaching style according to student's needs. It is important to have patience and encourage students to overcome their difficulties.
How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?
I would love to start with reading the article with students in a slow pace. It is important for these kinds of kids to have good reading habits and advanced reading skills.
What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?
Scaffolding is one of the most successful strategies in my teaching experience. Students need space to explore new knowledge by themselves.
How would you help a student get excited/engaged with a subject that they are struggling in?
I would start the lesson from something that the student already mastered to rebuild his or her confidence and interest in the subject. It is important to always keep a high expectation on the student, but with patience and a step-by-step learning schedule.
What techniques would you use to be sure that a student understands the material?
Asking students to explain their thinking process with evidence and formative assessments, such as quizzes and tests, on a regular basis would be good techniques to assess students' understanding.
How do you build a student's confidence in a subject?
Always give students challenging, but not too difficult tasks. Encourage them to ask questions and not to be afraid of making mistakes.
How do you evaluate a student's needs?
I would like to acquire this kind of information from students, parents, school reports and my own observation. Evaluating students' needs is an ongoing process.
How do you adapt your tutoring to the student's needs?
I would like to create learning schedules with students. Adjusting the teaching plan, teaching materials, and teaching methods based on students' needs, such as visual aids, hands-on activities, differentiated tasks and assessments, etc.
What types of materials do you typically use during a tutoring session?
It depends on students' age groups. I would use visual aids and hands-on activities for lower grade students, and use more technologies, such as internet, iPad, etc., for higher grade students.