What is your teaching philosophy?

I believe in letting students engage in their own learning. This means not just lecturing students on the subject they are trying to learn but guiding them to learn it through their own thinking. I do this by making sessions more of a conversation, and teach students to think through and analyze the problem, not just solve it.

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

In a typical first lesson, I like to gauge the student's understanding of the subject or problems first. This way I'll know how much the student already knows and what his/her weak points are. This also lets me know how the student approaches and thinks about the problem, which then allows me to better teach and help them by applying my teaching philosophy.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

Students become independent learners when they are able to understand what the problem means, even if they aren't able to solve it just yet. This way they are able to break down the problem and analyze it on their own based on their understanding. They can then go about using their own knowledge to learn.

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

To make sure a student understands the material, I would use practice questions or create concept questions on the spot to make sure the student understands the concept and method on how to solve the problem. The student should be able to apply that concept and method to similar problems.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

I would help students stay motivated by given them a sense of control. They get a say over each session and how they learn. Another way to help students stay motivated is to track progress. When students see tangible results due to the work they put in, they want to continue to better their learning. This can be done outside of tutoring sessions and/or scheduling follow up sessions to prior lessons.

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

Often when students find a skill or concept difficult to grasp, it's because they do not understand why things are done a certain way or how it's applicable. It's hard to learn something when you're just given a formula to follow but don't actually understand each of the steps. I would break down the skill or concept into smaller parts and go over each one to give the student an overall understanding. Then, we bring it back together and apply it to the problem.

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

Students struggling with reading comprehension often have a difficult time summarizing the main point(s) of the passage they are reading. Everything else in the passage is meant to circle around the main point - whether to support it, argue against it, or provide an example. I would help the student by teaching him/her to break down the passage into its individual points and then summarize the main idea of the passage. I would assign reading to the student, and have him/her use this method to understand the passage and then answer questions that test how well the student has identified these points. This will test the student's comprehension of what the author is saying. With enough practice, this method will be applied subconsciously when reading.

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

When starting to work with a student, I find it's important to understand the student's needs beyond just the course or material that's presented in the sessions. I'd like for the student to set a goal based on what they need help on. I also found that it's successful if I'm able to connect with the student in some way to make the tutoring sessions more personal and for the student to gain trust in me as a tutor.