What is your teaching philosophy?

Teaching is the transference of knowledge and skills from one person to another. Teaching accelerates the development of the ability for self-awareness and success in a given environment.

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

The first thing I want to know is about them! What do you like doing? What do you like in school? How do you think you are struggling? Next, we'll go over immediate problems the student is struggling with and identify some areas we can grow towards in future sessions. By the end of this first session, I need enough information to make a plan for how we are going to make them the smartest people we can.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

Meta-thinking is the key here! As we work through the problems that are currently vexing the student, we will start to identify areas and ways of thinking that lead to success as well as which study techniques work for them and which do not.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

Motivation is a three-step problem. The first step is identifying the problem; what do you want to know? Where will this take you? The second step is identifying a pathway to success; are there certain problem types you need to master for an assessment? Is there a mindset the most successful use to garner their success? Are there limitations that haven't been accounted for (schedule, personal interest, background knowledge)? Third, and lastly, you need to set a plan or routine that will allow you to seamlessly change yourself into the person you want to be; what is a process that you can do on a regular basis that has you practicing the skills you need? Do you need intermittent goals? What additional resources (tutoring included) do you need to be successful? Once we've located the problem, have a path in place, and the means to achieve this path, motivation is simply following our plan. Easy as pie.