What is your teaching philosophy?

The tutor must be patient with the tutee. Patience is one of the most important qualities of a tutor. The tutee must feel comfortable to make mistakes. Mistakes are always welcome. You can only learn from mistakes, and by doing that, you become better at what you do.

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

I'll have a mini interview with the student. Find out what they like and dislike. Find out their studying methods and how they like to learn. Then I give them a brief description of myself so that they can become comfortable with me.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

With math, most of time there is a rule to each type of problem. I would teach them the rule or strategy to each type of problem and have them practice it until it's embedded into their memory so that they will be able to solve any similar questions on their own in the future.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

I would go back over the concept on my own and research it if need be; to find a different teaching strategy in order to teach it and have it understood by the student in an easier way in the future.

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

I would take apart what they are reading into small sections and ask them to explain each small section, rather than having them read a large portion without comprehension. This way, they will stay more focused as they comprehend one small piece at a time.

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

Using humor and finding out their interests usually works when tutoring a student. Then, I can use that knowledge to keep them engaged, use their interests in conjunction with what they're learning and lastly, and use humor to keep them alert and mentally involved.

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

Using humor, using knowledge of what they're interested in and using those in conjunction with the topic being taught.

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

I would have the student answer similar questions on a regular basis to make sure they understand the topic fully and not only understand how to solve 1 or 2 questions in that specific topic.

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

By encouraging them and rooting them on when they use proper strategies and techniques, even when they get the answer wrong. Then congratulating them and giving them praise for correct answers.

How do you evaluate a student's needs?

When they get answers wrong, watch their every step in solving questions and figure out which part or parts of their problem-solving skills need to be adjusted.

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

If it a student that needs more attention/time, I will slow it down and repeat things over if needed. If a student loses attention easily, I will always have them doing something or saying something related to the topic at all times.

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

A calculator for math, books on the topic being taught for research purposes and scrap paper for notes for the student and myself.