What is your teaching philosophy?

I believe that teaching is a way to empower others. Good teaching starts with the individual student and draws upon his or her experience and passions to support an engaged and creative student.

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

Since quality tutoring is always personalized, in the first session I like to learn about the student's interests and passions, as well what he/she hopes to work on with tutoring. I believe that the 'why' of learning is just as important as the 'what', so I try to make the first tutoring session an exercising in connecting to the material as much as mastering it.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

My tutoring emphasizes critical-thinking skills and problem-solving methods. By emphasizing strategy, I help students master the skills they need to become independent learners.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

I help students stay motivated by connecting the subject material to the individual's experience. I believe that the best approach is interdisciplinary, and by drawing the student's interests - from sports to music to television - I allow them to relate educational material to their passions. This builds critical-thinking skills and creates motivated learners.

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

There are many different types of learners, and even more different teaching strategies. When a student has difficulty mastering a concept, I try a different strategy. In particular, I believe in experiential learning - both in person and online - as a tool to master difficult content.