What is your teaching philosophy?

Being able to teach a subject is mastery of that subject.

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

Ask them about their goals for our tutoring sessions and probe their current knowledge of the subject by having them explain to me what they know so we can identify the gaps.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

By providing them the tools to diagnose their own challenges in learning new material and to identify the methods that help them learn best. This gives them the confidence that they can figure it out.

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

I often begin a tutoring relationship by asking students what their goal is for our tutorials, asking them to really imagine what it would mean and feel like to achieve that goal. Then we break that goal into smaller parts that are more concretely defined. This way the student can accomplish little goals and measure success in a much more tangible and present way than the anguish of reaching for a far off abstract goal. It helps to make the subject resonate with something in their life, which almost always makes the topic feel important or valuable. Combined, these give students the hope and confidence that so often makes subjects seem more uninteresting than they can come across. Learning is exciting when it is not forced upon you or does not feel like a chore done for no personal reason.

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

I always engage my students with lists of strategies I have compiled over my time tutoring and teaching, trying out different ones and genuinely listening to students and their results to see which ones do or do not work. We both adapt to whatever provides the best outcomes for the student, and I am always open to trying new ideas and learning new approaches to better help my students.

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

I prefer to use materials most relevant and appropriate for the subject being tutored. I mostly tutor SAT and ACT, in which case I highly recommend using previous official ACT and SAT tests to truly practice with exactly the style of materials the students will encounter. For AP classes, I will refer to materials that most closely reflect the style of those tests, and so on and so forth. My students also seem to appreciate the study guides and review sheets which I personally review and choose for their accuracy and usefulness. Beyond that, the materials I use depend on the individual needs of the student.