What is your teaching philosophy?

I empower students to have the self-confidence to take a deep breath, and guide them through the process of figure out the answer for themselves.

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

In a typical first session, I would introduce myself, ask the students what his/her/their goals were, set expectations for what the tutor-tutee relationship will look like, and begin reviewing and establishing foundational knowledge in the subject.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

Using an experiential learning model, I have students reflect on what they did, draw out a larger conclusion, and come up with examples of how they can use those skills in future academic situations.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

Specific positive reinforcement that targets specific things a student is doing well helps the student feel as though they have strengths in a given subject area.

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

I go sentence by sentence and have students identify words they find challenging and/or don't know. I then have them break words into parts to help them generate the answers on their own.

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

I find it most helpful to identify a student's goals and set expectations for what the tutor-tutee relationship will look like. What does the student want out of the tutoring sessions? What are the student's long- and short-term goals?

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

When a student is struggling, I try to use analogies that directly relate to their interests, so that they gradually become more engaged in the subject.

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

I ask the students to explain the concept to me in their own words, and to apply the concept on their own to problems without guidance.

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

Specific, positive reinforcement--even if it's something small--can help a student feel successful. Even if a paragraph in an essay is wonky, you can still say something like "Your topic sentence did a really nice job of connecting back to your thesis; you are very aware of your argument."

How do you evaluate a student's needs?

A student generally knows their needs best. Before I start tutoring, I like to ask what the student would like to work on, and ask what feedback they have gotten from others. This approach helps identify a student's weak points.