What is your teaching philosophy?

My personal goal as a classroom teacher is to challenge students and watch them grow to their full potential. I want to take students at different levels and see them develop together for the betterment of each individual. Therefore, allowing students to have an active voice in the classroom has been successful and the key to having collaborative learning environment every day. The impact of group work, when students help fellow students, changes each person and transforms the atmosphere of the class as a whole. In my classroom, I want students to have freedom that allows for expression and creativity. Students should be able to experiment with likes and dislikes and to realize their strengths and weaknesses. After this base is developed, the curriculum can be molded to tie in each student's learning style. I want to teach students in a way that has some straightforward instruction, but that also gives students room to grow and expand on their own. At the beginning of the year, it is understandable for the teacher to lead class discussions, but towards the end of the year, students will pose their own questions and try to answer them independently. I feel it is beneficial for students to sometimes work for the answer rather than being told because it stretches their knowledge and teaches them how to find information in a variety of ways. I also feel a key to success is for the class to work on projects to help others. As an educator, it is important not only to help the students that you are teaching, but also give them direction to help others. As an educator, it is critical to remember to enjoy students and everything they have to offer. Sometimes it can be a struggle, but if something goes wrong, there is always a way to fix the problem. No matter what, there is always the power to make change.

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

I first begin to develop a relationship; this will allow me to see my client's needs.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

Through continuous support and encouragement, no matter what, the student needs to feel empowered in their own learning.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

By setting goals. If students understand why they are working toward becoming a better learner, they are likely to see the future outcomes.

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

As their tutor, I will have to show different strategies in learning one problem.

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

Comprehension is very subjective, but my first goal is to allow the reader to feel happy while they are reading. Students who struggle in this area maybe reading texts that are not at their academic level. Showing students books they can read will increase their overall comprehension.

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

I use a questioning technique; modeling students is the key.

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

First, by setting the tone of why we need to understand something. This opens the door with the learner.

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

I would use small chunking, vocabulary understanding, questioning, and responding to the author.

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

Through mindset models.

How do you evaluate a student's needs?

Exit tickets and running records.

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

As a teacher, you have to meet the learner where they are currently learning and begin to improve their learning.

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

I use informational texts and a writer's notebook.