What is your teaching philosophy?

I believe in taking a personalized approach to each student in order to learn the manner in which they learn best. Additionally, I believe in a long-term approach to learning. In the ideal situation, students master concepts as they learn them, leading to long-term retention and increased success on exams and evaluations.

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

A typical first session is for getting to know the student as a person, how they learn best, and what their learning objectives are. If the client is hiring me for general study skills/homework help, we work together to establish a routine. If the client is hiring me for a specific subject, I run a diagnostic test, and we decide as a group (student, tutor, and parents) to create a game plan.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

That's the most important part of my job! Clearly, teaching independent learning skills depends on the age of the child. However, there are three major components: 1. Instill in the child a love of learning by showing them the applicability of the subjects they're learning in "real life", and helping them find a subject that engages them. 2. Improving the student's critical reading skills, so that they can gain knowledge from new material. 3. Assessing the child's individual learning style, which helps them improve their study skills and continue their success throughout their educational career.

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

Try all different ways until they understand! There are SO many different ways to learn something, which can be from seeing it, to touching it, to hearing it, to building it, and beyond. I have experience as a 7th-grade teacher, and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to help students learn!

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

I like to provide informal and formal assessments of students' learning. Sometimes that entails working through an activity. Other times, it's completing a practice quiz or test. In other situations, the best assessment is letting the child explain the concept to me in their own words. Regardless, we work together until the student can demonstrate mastery!

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

By scaffolding material! This is a tried-and-true concept of teaching, and it's equally effective in a one-on-one setting. In this technique, I start with the most basic, broken-down pieces of the objective to show the student that they are capable of getting answers right. Then, we work together to increase the rigor of the questions until the student has demonstrated mastery of the full objective.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

Depending on their level, either keeping their goals at the forefront of their mind or choosing subject matter that appeals to them. Ideally, a combination of both.