What is your teaching philosophy?

For me, the role of teacher or tutor is one of guidance and facilitation. It is my role as a teacher to support my students to become independent, self-aware learners who have the skills to advocate and problem-solve for themselves. As such, my approach is very much strategy-based so that students develop mastery of both content and methodology.

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

The first session of a tutoring relationship is very important because it is the first formal opportunity to get to know each other and set goals. In the first session, I like to get to know what the student's expectations are for our sessions and what his or her desired outcomes are. I also like to conduct an informal diagnostic assessment to see what the student's starting level is, so as to more efficiently plan for instruction, as well as to measure growth over the course of our sessions.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

Students become independent learners when they are trained to become self-aware of their strengths and weaknesses as a learner, and are then taught strategies to help them use their areas of strength to support their areas of weakness. Such strategies are often content-specific. Sometimes, however, certain strategies are applicable across disciplines. It is the mastery of these transdisciplinary strategies that makes for the strongest, independent learners.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

Lack of motivation is often caused by feelings of inadequacy and/or disinterest towards the subject matter. To address this with a student, I would first focus on helping the student see how the topic is relevant to his/her life and goals. Then, I would approach instruction with several scaffolds designed to focus on what the student does know well, and what he/she can do successfully.