What is your teaching philosophy?

My teaching philosophy is every student can learn. As long as we work as a team and the child puts forth effort, I can help everyone achieve.

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

My typical first session includes getting to know the student. I go over my expectations and together, myself, the student, and the family (if desired), will go over the goals what we want to achieve for the student.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

I will utilize several strategies to help a student become an independent learner. These may include: teaching skills to build confidence in the areas in which they display academic or social weaknesses. Teach the student how to be responsible, by giving a task he/she must complete before returning to me. Teaching organization skills will also help the child become more independent in completing and turning in tasks given by the teacher. There are many different strategies I may utilize, but I would have to know the student first.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

To help a student having difficulty learning a skill or concept, I would break the skill down step by step. Doing this would allow me to determine where the breakdown is and, as the student is able to perform each step individually, I would then reintroduce it back to them. Reintroducing it back to them step by step allows them to build on skill or concept until they are able to complete the entire skill or concept independently, but with confidence.

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

When students struggle with reading comprehension, I will ensure they know the foundation of comprehending. Once that is done, I work on the skill of reading. I teach students how to read and reread and additional strategies such as reading the questions first, and then reading the passage. I move the student down a grade level to build their confidence, and then move them up to their grade level, teach the skills, and if they are doing well, move within or above their grade level content for comprehension.

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

The strategy I have found most successful when I start working with a student is establishing a solid relationship of expectations. I listen to the student and ask them what is difficult for them and what is easy for them in the school day. If they ask me to write notes for their parents or teachers, I do that for them. I want the student to see me as a resource, not a horrible idea. When students have a positive impact with tutors, I truly believe they will want to seek help at any stage of their life when they have educational difficulties.

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

I help students get engaged by introducing games, technology, and cool articles I find about the topic. In some instances, such as reading fluency, I let them challenge me to timed tests to see if they can beat me.

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

I use formal and informal assessments to be certain a child understands a skill. At times, I also accept this orally and may make a note for the teacher. Overall, we want to know the child knows the skills in any way possible.

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

To build a student's confidence in a subject, I simply find out what they know so the student has a list of what they are capable of doing. From there we add to the list (this is typically a visual list). I also show how well they do when they complete projects, assignments, and test.

How do you evaluate a student's needs?

I evaluate a student's through observations and work samples. Since I have worked in the field of intervention and special education, this is seamless to me. I am open to communicating these needs to any person who works with the student in the school setting.

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

I am extremely flexible in adapting my tutoring to the student's needs. If I see any signs of frustration, I immediately begin creating plan B and so on until I find the solution that works for them to successfully learn.

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

Materials I use could include paper, pencils, lots of technology, calculator and again, lots of technology that will track and hold data. I also include manipulatives, but I have many online programs that will assist students in visuals for academic tasks.