What is your teaching philosophy?

My teaching philosophy is that each student's learning abilities are unique, so it is important to identify and adjust teaching according to the way a student best learns.

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

I will implement a lesson that engages the student and allows them to apply what they learned. I will ask the student open-ended questions about prior or current knowledge about the main ideas of the lesson. Then, try to fill in any gaps of knowledge that the student is missing to understand important detail and the bigger picture. Lastly, I will ask the student to apply what they learned in the lesson by answering questions or completing a problem independently and provide feedback on how they did. This feedback will include what they did correct and where they should improve.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

I can help a student become an independent learner by introducing and showing them practice questions and work related to their subject and self-checking. One way this can be done is by asking themselves practice questions or review questions of the lesson they are studying, and then seeking the correct answer to self-check from a reliable source. Becoming a critical thinker is also a way to become an independent learner, and I will provide the student with questions and practice that will gauge and improve their critical thinking skills. This can come in the form of relating what they are learning to their personal lives or making future predictions based on patterns.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

One way I think will keep a student motivated is helping them set milestones and goals. Then, work towards each of them, and take pride in reaching those goals throughout time. This may give them a sense of accomplishment, which could keep them motivated.

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

I will implement a lesson that will break this skill into smaller parts, such as 2-3 activities, or what will be necessary to help the student gradually learn the skill or concept. These activities will include important components of the skill or concept that is broken down. Then, I will test the students' knowledge of the lessons by giving them an assignment to complete on their own and checking and providing feedback.

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

I will do this by providing a lesson that will focus on the main ideas and the most essential details of what they are reading, and then having the student recall this information. I will provide a lesson where the student reads a short passage, and then after the reading, they will write the main idea and what the supporting details were. This can be done by having them outline what they are reading and highlighting the who, what, when, where, how, and why of a topic. This will help enhance their reading comprehension.

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

The most successful strategy when starting to work with a student is to get the student to actively participate and engage in the lesson, and then provide feedback. This means that I will read along with the student and ask them engaging and critical thinking questions and have them answer, and then give them feedback. I also think it is important that the student demonstrates what they learned.

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

I will try to relate the content that they are learning about to something that they may understand already or are interested in. Also, I will try to tutor the lesson using other components such as videos, media, or interactive activities that may help gain and keep the student's attention.

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

The techniques I will use to be sure that the students understand the material would be to give them a small, but engaging, project to complete on their own that is related to the material. This project will allow the students to demonstrate what they know by applying their knowledge on their own, using what they learned from the lesson, and skills and concepts that were taught.

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

A way to build confidence is when the student is able to answer questions or complete assessments successfully, so this is something that I will include. This can boost their confidence in their own abilities, and this also helps me understand how the student is performing.

How do you evaluate a student's needs?

I evaluate a student's needs by asking them questions related to the material and big ideas that they understand, and then asking them what they do not understand. From there, I will set out to improve the areas where they are not comprehending well, or those skills and concepts that they need help on.

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

I adapt my tutoring to a student's needs by finding out where they excel and where they are struggling, and I adjust the lessons according to that. I will try to improve skills concurrently, such as helping them learn and master the important concepts, and also improve their skills that are related to being successful at the same time. An example is improving their good research skills, while at the same time helping them understand the concepts of how researchers use research and investigation to find out about the past.

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

During a session, I will typically use various different credible sources and multimedia to implement a lesson. This can be using a textbook that is relative to the lesson or using videos or podcasts of information from prominent people within the field of the subject that I am tutoring.