What is your teaching philosophy?

Everyone learns differently; the trick is to find out how.

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

Get to know them: what do they do, how do they like to have fun, do they prefer pictures and stories to learn or flashcards and practice testing?

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

Help them figure out how they learn best. If you are aware of what you need to do, then your studying will be more effective.

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

Take a break and reevaluate; if you keep trying something that is not working, the amount of effort you put in will diminish quickly. It is important to take a step back and rebuild confidence before tackling that problem again.

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

Try to make it more fun by relating it to the student through their interests and hobbies.

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

I use positive reinforcement: Verbal rewards, high fives, excitement, and praise.

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

Find a reading material that appeals more to the student, then work into harder material from there. It's always better to start with something that interests the student because it will make learning more fun for them. :)

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

Building a relationship with them. If you know more about your student, then you will have a better understanding of how they will learn best.

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

Once I have the relationship built with a student, I can tap into their interests to see how they gather information best. For example, if they watch a lot of tv or movies, I might think that they are more visual learners, where as if they like to build things, they will probably need lots of examples, more of a hands on learning approach.

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

Being a visual learner myself, I like to use whiteboards, or some other form of being able to present the material in a visual form, rather than simply speaking and expecting the student to gather everything I am saying. Plus I want to help them feel like they can take notes with me.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

I use operant conditioning, including encouragement.

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

I have them explain the material back to me in a different way, or have them complete a similar problem on their own using the techniques shown on the first example.

How do you evaluate a student's needs?

First, asking them about which areas or subjects they feel confident about, and then analyzing those areas by giving them problems and having them explain the solutions back to me.