What is your teaching philosophy?

I like to keep things as simple as possible when teaching, and rely on pen, paper, and the "Socratic Method" as much as possible. Computers certainly have their place in the modern learning environment, but my goal as a teacher ultimately is to help students learn how to learn and to get excited about the subject matter, rather than just stuff their heads with lots of (to them, anyway) meaningless and disjointed facts and figures.

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

In my first session, I would get to know the student and find out where they are struggling and how they learn. I would open up the doors of communication, so the student feels comfortable talking and working with me. After that, we would dive into learning the material.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

My goal is to have the student answer the questions, and not just have me supplying them the answer. I will have the student explain the thought process behind just the answer to make sure they know what they just learned.

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

I would try different approaches to help the student learn. I would keep trying until I found one that worked.