What is your teaching philosophy?

While some students may need a hand up, I believe that all students have the potential to achieve their dreams.

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

We might start with the student's opinion of where the areas of improvement might be. Then, we set some specific, achievable goals in those areas, including benchmarks for success.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

By using scaffolding, of "I do, we do, you do" as well as a lot of practice, students can move towards gaining ownership of their learning.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

Specific, measurable goals that are revisited as a student achieves them is a great way to stay motivated.

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

We look at where the difficulty stems from. Is it a vocabulary issue? If so, we work towards increasing vocabulary. Is it a size issue? If so, we break the content into more manageable chunks. Is it a content issue? If so, we look at prior knowledge and build upon it.

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

A large piece of text can be intimidating, so breaking it into smaller pieces can really help. It makes the passage more manageable and gives the student a feeling of success. That feeling of success helps build confidence. We also look at vocabulary and work on activating prior knowledge.

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

Set goals together.

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

We first have to look at why there's a struggle, and then come up with a plan to work through it. We also look at what a student already knows about a subject. Sometimes, students have difficulties because they don't see a real world application. We look at how things can be used in a real world setting, which also helps give the students a feeling of ownership.

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

We would work on summarizing first, since that's a good way to determine whether or not the material is understood. Then, we would create review questions that we can look at later, to keep the information available for recall.

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

Specific, measurable goals help students feel like they're making progress. The more progress a student makes, the more confidence is built.

How do you evaluate a student's needs?

First, I listen to the student's concerns. Then, we look at the material together. Next, we formulate a working plan.

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

I don't have a set "method" for tutoring. Instead, I work with the student to create a personalized plan to meet their needs.

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

It depends on what the student needs. It might be as simple as a dictionary. We might look at a video or examine offerings from an online resource.