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Sofokli
Certified Tutor
Education & Certification
Undergraduate Degree: University of Tirana - Bachelors, Mathematics
Graduate Degree: University of North Dakota - PHD, Teaching and Learning
Hobbies
Hobbies/Interests: Spending time with family, teaching, reading, chess, hiking.
Tutoring Subjects
What is your teaching philosophy?
After 40 years of teaching experience I have consolidated my own teaching philosophy, which, in essence, is: encourage students. Learning by dividing students into study groups dealing with micro theses related to syllabus topics. A problem to be solved should be in the center of each micro thesis. Solve the problem and represent the solution by employing the proper technology. Specify the contribution of each student within a certain group. At the beginning of each semester make clear to students the proportion of this job towards other course requirements. This teaching philosophy as associated with the relevant techniques and other psychological and pedagogical considerations, is described in my recent book titled "The theory and the practice of teaching", published in 2012 in the Albanian language.
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
By practicing the knowledge either in class or at home. The student's work must be evaluated every time, and the feedback must be given to the student. The difficulty of problems should be raised gradually, depending on the student's scale of understanding. This is a way to motivate the student and help him be an independent learner.
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
An effective method is inductive learning. This means to provide the student with easy, practical situations which lead to the skill or concept that is difficult for the student.
How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?
Have the student paraphrase the word problem in a variety of ways.
What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?
Start to become friends with the student by telling each other interesting personal stories related to learning and education.
What techniques would you use to be sure that a student understands the material?
The first technique is to observe the student's reaction as he progresses towards more difficult material.