Erina
Certified Tutor
Undergraduate Degree: Indiana University-Purdue University-Fort Wayne - Bachelors, Biology, General
Graduate Degree: The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston - Current Grad Student, Public Health
Music
College Biology
High School Biology
High School Physics
Middle School Science
What is your teaching philosophy?
I firmly believe teaching is the best profession, because as we all know knowledge is power, and teaching provides both the teacher and student with knowledge. So it's always a pleasure for me to share the knowledge that I have. Now about philosophy, I would call myself old-fashioned, because I strongly believe in person teaching with different forms of illustrations is the best method of teaching, not only because it's easy for the tutor but also, according to a survey, a student retains more information where diagrams and in-person communication is involved. But these days, technology has quite a good grasp over everything, and the most important feature of online teaching is that it's time convenient and help can be provided right at the time of demand.
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
Introduce myself -get an idea of the syllabus -where the student needs help -what concept he is not clear about -go over the basic concepts -and, slowly move ahead to the area that needs clarification.
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
That can be established by testing his concepts through more sample problems.
How would you help a student stay motivated?
Encourage the student by starting off with simple problems first, and then move to the harder ones.
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
Use diagrams, pictures, videos, and real-life examples with things in life that he likes or dislikes relevant to the concept. That would allow the student to retain more information and easily remember the materials.
How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?
I would first figure out what's causing the difficulty. - Is it the sentence structure, grammar or vocabulary? -Then, work on each of them separately with an extra effort on the problematic areas. -And then put them all together.
What techniques would you use to be sure that a student understands the material?
To assess if a student understands the material, giving problems is the best method to check how good he is good at it.
How do you build a student's confidence in a subject?
Practice makes a man perfect, regardless of what subject it is.
What types of materials do you typically use during a tutoring session?
Videos, diagrams, real-life examples, and puzzles.
What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?
Let the student make a list of problems, and be honest about if he understands the topic or not. And asking question always helps.
How would you help a student get excited/engaged with a subject that they are struggling in?
Practice, practice practice. Spend more than the usual time on that subject. Solve problems with understanding and not memorization, and ask questions for anything he does not understand.
How do you evaluate a student's needs?
This can be evaluated by pre and post-tutoring assessments.
How do you adapt your tutoring to the student's needs?
By changing my approach, strategies, time for certain concepts, etc.