What is your teaching philosophy?

Learning, like all things, requires hard work and dedication, but that does not mean it has to be a boring and tedious task. We tend to retain fun, useless information that interests us the most, but most fail to realize how much power those known memories have on our potential to make new ones. One of the techniques that I teach my students is how to use that everyday "useless" trivia, and apply it to what they NEED to remember.

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

Usually, by the time the student and I have our first official study session (in person or online), we have already been in contact and gone over the student's course syllabus and what information they need to learn for their upcoming lecture. I do not want to waste the student's time, and always plan ahead to ensure they are learning what they need to learn in a timely fashion. So, a typical first session starts with introductions, and then we get straight to work.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

When I teach my students, I do not just teach them the information exclusive to their course content. I teach them to be confident in themselves first and foremost, along with all of the studying techniques I have come across throughout my career. I have been in their shoes, and I understand the mindset they are in when receiving private tutoring. My goal with my students is to empower them by giving them the necessary tools to be able to ultimately be their own tutors and teach themselves.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

Doing any sort of work while a person is motivated is cake. A person that is motivated for however many minutes or hours doesn't require any guidance to do their work. That feeling of true motivation is rare, and when it does settle in, it doesn't stay for as long as we need it to. For that reason, I help my students work and stay focused when they're not motivated, which is exactly when they need true guidance. I accomplish this through my teaching methods and by setting realistic goals, which are backed up by current research. For example, I recommend taking breaks after a certain amount of allotted time, talking about things that interest them during those study breaks, and then associating those things with the information that they need to learn as we continue our study session.

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

If a student is having difficulty learning a certain skill or concept, we tend to go back to basics, and assure that their understanding of the foundations is correct, after which we attack the new concept with everything we know. This technique not only confirms that the student has a clear understanding of their foundation, it also gives the student a boost in confidence to tackle newer concepts. This in turn takes the fear out of learning that new Goliath-like concept, and breaks it down into smaller, easier to comprehend concepts.

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

One of my main strategies with my students is known as spaced repetition. It is backed up by a lot of research, and when incorporated properly through a system of assessments and learning techniques, it has extremely promising rewards.

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

The idea is to understand what the student likes and finds exciting/engaging in everyday life, and associate that with what the student is struggling with. Using this method, the student stays focused and is actually able to retain the material he/she struggled with before for much longer periods of time.

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

For all of my students, I create a flash card system that incorporates learning new material while testing the student at the same time. By the end of our study session, through various triggers and mnemonics within that system, the student is able to answer all of the questions correctly without getting a single one of them wrong.