What is your teaching philosophy?

Teaching is not trying to cram information in a student's head. It is getting them to understand more about the subject, ideally to a point that they will be able to correctly explain the concept themselves with confidence.

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

Try to gain an understanding of how the student thinks in order to optimize the rest of the session.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

Encourage curiosity and asking questions. Encourage looking at a situation or concept, thinking about it to determine what may be confusing, and asking questions that may lead to answers.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

Try to determine why they are having difficulty and see if a different approach would be better.

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

Encourage them to read more, keep a dictionary when reading and to always think about what a passage means instead of blindly going over the words.

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

Assess what the student does not have trouble with, and see if it is possible to build upon that to help them with the material that they do have trouble with.

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

If possible, give a real-world example of how a concept is applied.

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

I would have the student attempt to explain the material to me. If they can do that correctly and with confidence, then they likely understand the material.

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

I make no remarks as to their performance prior to tutoring in order to avoid discouraging them. I would also try to encourage them if they seem to be struggling.

How do you evaluate a student's needs?

I try to assess if they do not understand material at all or if they have a partial understanding of the material to see where I should start.

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

I try to follow a pace that the student will be comfortable with, and change it if necessary.

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

Textbooks, old notes, and practice problems either in text books or ones I draft myself.