What is your teaching philosophy?

I am a Paulo Freire wannabe. To sum him up (in a casual sense), he basically taught illiterate, Brazilian farmers how to read. However, Freire understood that those farmers were intelligent in their own right, and that they brought significant experience to the learning process. Indeed, I see my students the same way. I am not the expert regurgitating knowledge to you; instead, we actively solve problems together.

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

Step 1: Student and tutor introduce themselves. Step 2: Student shares what must be accomplished. Step 3: Student and tutor create a plan to make it happen. Step 4: Tutor reviews plan for clarification. Step 5: Student and tutor execute plan.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

When the tutor demonstrates learning as an interactive exchange, the student's motivation level increases. In addition, reviewing accomplishments after each session is important; reflecting on what the student has achieved boosts their self-esteem.

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

"I sense your frustration here. Let's break this skill down into bite-sized chunks." "Hmmm... it looks like I am not doing a solid job here. Let me show it to you a different way." "Gee... that's not working, either. Do you have a favorite way of learning that I can use to demonstrate this concept?" (Music, visuals, rhyming, etc.)

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

Trick question. Why? Reading comprehension is too broad. We need to identify very specific areas in which the student struggles. Do they grapple with how the text is organized? Is vocabulary an issue? Is fluency an area of weakness? Is fiction more of a concern than non-fiction? Do they flounder in analysis (inferring skills)?

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

I think it's important to be yourself. Students appreciate an authentic, transparent adult. I believe that having a "down-to-earth" demeanor increases a student's level of comfort.

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

Differentiating instruction is extremely important in learning. Understanding how the student learns best and making sure that happens early (in the process) ensures that the tutor adjusts their style to the student's needs.

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

It will depend on the session. During the first session, I will not have as many materials as I will in the future. Subsequent sessions may require examples or samples, practice questions, selected passages/poems, YouTube links, and websites.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

Here's what I told my Intensive Reading student on the first day of school: "My goal is to make sure this class disappears from your schedule. Ultimately, I want this course to vanish." When students become independent learners, they no longer need my help; indeed, my tutoring becomes obsolete. How do I make that happen? By having students demonstrate what they have learned (and do so confidently); by having students show me their reading/writing process with "never before seen" material; by having students utilize their strengths during times of weakness; by helping students understand that learning is the secret code word for failing.

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

Focusing on the student's strengths will help off-set some of that negativity. If the student struggles in understanding what they are reading in biology, but does extremely well in lab work, obviously, that shows the students that the subject matter is not the issue. Helping students specifically identify what they are struggling with is far more productive than placing blame on the subject.

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

Focusing on the student's strengths and skill-set rather than the subject matter should help build a student's confidence. Changing perspective and internal talk is also important. "I suck at reading" is not a productive way of thinking. Even something simple as having a student reflect upon how they're thinking might impact how they approach the subject.

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

If a student successfully demonstrates/models their learning on new/fresh material (with very little guidance), then, I am confident the student understands how to learn and how to think for themselves. Ideally, I want to see and hear their thinking.

How do you evaluate a student's needs?

If the student can articulate what they need, we have a solid start; however, if the student does not even know where to begin, well, it becomes obvious that the student does not understand what they need to know. When a student cannot explicitly articulate their needs, the tutor must approach the learning in a broad manner rather than a specific one.