Sandra

What is your teaching philosophy?

My philosophy is that I want my students to learn the skills and be able to utilize useful tools necessary for real life. The subject matter helps the students develop their skills and tool use. For example, I don't have my Chemistry students memorize the Periodic Table. Instead, we use the table as a tool, so they can easily glean the information they need to use.

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

First, getting to know the student, their background, and their motivation for being tutored on the subject specified. I'd also introduce myself as well! I will also give an assessment test to determine the skills and knowledge the student currently has so I can plan out the best course of action.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

Because I teach both math and science, I model problems by modeling the process on how to solve the problem, as well as modeling the solution to the problem. By modeling the process, the students learn how they can figure out new topics on their own.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

With lots of positive feedback! If a student is struggling with a topic, we will go back and re-learn the subject from a different standpoint and continue to do so until the student feels that he/she is successful!

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

Take a different approach - most often, with math and science, there are many paths and processes to find the correct answer. For students with different learning styles, try using the style that is their strength.

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

Getting to know them, their motivation, skill level, and learning style - this is paramount to finding which strategies will work best for the student.

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

First, to know what is giving the student the frustration that is making them feel the failure of the subject. Assessing them to figure out how much they know/skills they currently have is important. Tailoring an individualized learning plan for them will help them get engaged again.

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

I utilize smaller assessments - about 5 questions - that students would complete in-session, and we would review together if there were any incorrect answers. If there are less than 4 correct answers, we'd go back and review the topic again, but in a more focused manner.

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

Positive feedback! Successful assessments!

How do you evaluate a student's needs?

By talking to them about what they feel they need to know, and then, through an assessment tool, find out what areas need to be uplifted.

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

Since I teach math and science, I tend to use problem sets more that anything else. Sometimes the student needs additional support such as an understanding of vocabulary, so I also have PowerPoint slides for a review. If that doesn't work, we can also go to other online sites to help.

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

With math and science, read the word problem all the way through and figure out what you need to solve for, and then re-read the problem and highlight/underline the information that would be used in solving the problem.