What is your teaching philosophy?

I strive to adapt to each student's individual learning style. I learn in a variety of ways, and I know each student is just as unique. I want to empower every student to unlock their academic potential.

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

Assess where the student's strengths and weaknesses lie academically, while also getting to know them as a person. The better you understand a student, the more you can help them achieve their goals.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

Instead of simply helping the student get through a particular assignment, I look for larger patterns in order to address root issues instead of just the symptoms. For example, if a student was having a particularly difficult time in forming a thesis statement, I would take a step back and explain what elements make a good thesis statement and how to put the theory into practice.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

Celebrating victories is essential to staying motivated. I would find out what kind of rewards the student was interested in and make a series of challenging but achievable goals to help them strive even further, and then follow through with my reward system.

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

First, I would ask if they could explain what was confusing them or making it difficult for them to grasp. If they couldn't pinpoint where they were getting stuck or hadn't had the concept fully explained, I would break it down piece by piece. After I explained the concept, I would ask them to put it into practice to demonstrate they understood. I would also check to see if they had any other questions I could answer to clarify the concept.

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

I would start by having the student read a paragraph aloud and underlining any words they thought were important. Then, I would ask them what they think the paragraph is about and how the words they underlined help emphasize that point. If they don't know how to answer these questions, I would break the paragraph down further by asking them to read each sentence and then summarize in their own words what happened. I would also suggest pausing after each paragraph to jot down some main ideas before moving onto the next so it wasn't as overwhelming after reading the passage to answer questions about it. In addition, I would check to see if the student was comfortable with the vocabulary level incase that is an area we needed to focus on. I would encourage students to ask questions about any words or phrases they didn't understand.