What is your teaching philosophy?

My teaching philosophy is that the student comes first. Striving to understand how a student learns best, and taking advantages of different modalities of learning, ensures a legitimate understanding of instructed material. It is far more powerful to understand the logic and reasoning behind a mathematical equation or concept than discretely memorizing.

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

Within the first session of the tutoring session, I feel it is my responsibility to create a comfortable learning environment. I want the student to feel free to ask any questions regarding the material- no matter how elementary it may be. Building a foundation of trust, baseline achievement, and security within the student-tutor relationship are all priorities during the first lesson.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

As an undergraduate, I took the VARK test. Created to help students understand what modalities of learning foster the greatest understanding of content. Visual, hands on, textual, or auditory. I would encourage a student to be an independent learner by taking advantage of the manner in which they learn best.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

Creating goals is an important tool for motivation. I believe setting realistic goals and encouragement when goals are reached are powerful means of motivation and self-confidence enhancement.

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

When I am faced with difficult concepts, I often try to relate that concept to something that is already familiar with me. I may understand how a sponge already full of water may not hold any more water, no matter how much I add to it- in this manner I can relate to the concept of saturation, unsaturation, and super-saturation.

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

As one who personally had a difficult time with reading comprehension during my time in early academia, I find it helpful to pause and recap/summarize after each paragraph. At the conclusion of the passage, it is often helpful to recall the summary you made for yourself at each paragraph. I used this same technique while taking the MCAT verbal reasoning section.

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

I have found that relating to a student's interests and prior knowledge significantly helps in the development of understanding of new concepts. Learning how a student learns and molding your teaching style around his/her learning style yields rewarding results.

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

Engaging students in subjects they are struggling in is always a difficult situation. Consistent affirmation, encouragement, and assurance goes a long way.

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

A professor of mine mentioned that if you can speak for 5 minutes on a subject without stopping, you know enough for a quiz. While this may have been his particular technique, gauging a student's understanding through oral, written, and diagrammatic means are often most revealing.

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

Confidence stems from consistency. If a student is able to consistently grasp concepts and answer questions correctly, a confidence on the subject is established. Building the confidence in the first place relies on persistent building to more difficult questions, starting at a foundational level.

How do you evaluate a student's needs?

Oftentimes, a seasoned student will know what their needs are. Outright asking the student their goals and expectations of tutoring sessions may reveal their needs. Evaluating these needs is also dependent on the student- where do they feel they need help and how are they examined?

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

As I have previously mentioned, I am a firm believer in the VARK evaluation of learning styles. Adapting my tutoring sessions to a student’s needs- whether it be creating diagrams, reviewing concepts in a simpler or more relatable manner, or encouraging alternative resources, I am able and ready to adapt.

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

I am partial to using metaphors, real life examples, as well as drawing figures or diagrams to illustrate particular concepts. Any and all media available!