What is your teaching philosophy?

I believe that every student is able and can overcome any learned helplessness or fear of a subject, if it is broken down and explained in manner specific to that students’ learning and communication style.

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

Assess the student's current ability and understanding of that subject material, and identify barriers to his/her success in that subject.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

By teaching the student the building blocks of the subject and of learning in general, the student can learn to become his/her own teacher. I see my role as a facilitator that aids and empowers students towards independent learning.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

In my experience, students lose motivation when a subject appears too difficult, is moving too slowly, or has no connection to his/her life or interests. If a student was struggling with motivation I would work to keep them engaged by tailoring the learning to his/her learning speed and interests. If they were struggling to understand an aspect of the subject, I would seek to identify and empower the student to overcome that barrier.

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

If a student were struggling I would work to identify where the difficulty is stemming from. I would break down the subject material and go back to the last point that the student was successful at. Then, I would work with the student to use what they already do understand to build back up to the skill or concept we are working towards.

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

When students that are struggling with reading comprehension see big paragraphs, like really long worded math problem, it can be very daunting. If we break down what is being said into smaller pieces and pull the information out, a lot of times the student then succeeds. I have also found students struggling with vocabulary. When I had taught them to determine the word in context, this often helps.

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

Very student comes to the table with different learning styles, different previous knowledge and experience, and different motivations and interests. Truly understanding where a particular student is coming from has helped me be most successful with that student.

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

I would help identify the exact part they are struggling with. Often one step is where the student got off, but then the whole type of problem is deemed frustrating. So we would find the last moment the student was successful, and use tools; they are really are good with to build up confidence and build up to where they are struggling. Also, one way to work on keeping things exciting and engaging is to pull into the situation things the student is personally interested in.