What is your teaching philosophy?

I believe learning is a dynamic, life-long endeavor and I seek to instill a love of learning to my students. I believe in a student-centered approach to teaching, providing students with meaningful, differentiated and fun instruction that builds upon their interests and strengths to help develop their weaknesses.

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

Initially, I would get to know the student's general background, identify their general interests and hobbies, their likes/dislikes about learning and what is particularly challenging about the subject/skill we will be focusing upon. I would then use that information, with their input, to create a schedule for how to best assist them.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

I can help a student become an independent learner by incorporating their interests into the curriculum, provide differentiated, scaffolded instruction to build their knowledge base and provide them the procedures for accomplishing challenging objectives.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

I help students stay motivated by incorporating their interests, making the learning experience enjoyable and demonstrate the practical applicability of what we are learning.

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

First identify the true nature of the difficulty, then creating lessons to address the challenge.

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

Initially, I would ascertain their reading level to ensure the passages they are asked to read are developmentally appropriate. Once that has been determined, I can then use materials at their level to determine what comprehension skills the student employs to understand their reading. Knowing that I can then provide the student with appropriate instruction focusing on literacy/comprehension skills, such as visualizing, making connections to the reading, using context to gain meaning and drawing upon their general background knowledge about the passage to be read.