What is your teaching philosophy?

My teaching philosophy is that patience is the most important thing. If a student is not absorbing the material, one should never blame the student but should instead try a new approach to teaching the material, and keep trying until you find a good fit for the student.

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

I will usually begin by asking the student what areas of a given subject with which they feel they need improvement. I will then try to get a feel for the student's knowledge of the subject overall.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

I feel one of the best ways to inspire a student to become an independent learner is to find a way to relate the given subject to something that the student is interested in. An easy example is teaching statistics to a sports fan by demonstrating the math behind all of a player or team's statistics and how to use a better understanding of where those numbers come from in order to better predict future outcomes.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

The quicker a student gets bored with the material or frustrated from not understanding the material, the quicker the student loses motivation. Paying attention to the student, watching to see if they are struggling to learn or bored with repetitive tasks, and then modifying your lesson plan or approach to better suit the student.

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

I would remain patient and continue to try new approaches to teaching the topic. If a teacher or tutor comes with only one plan on how to teach a topic then they are, in my opinion, not properly prepared.