What is your teaching philosophy?

My goal is to make sure every student I tutor is satisfied and fully understands the topic we covered. I believe it is infinitely more important to understand the material rather than just memorizing it. As my favorite professor constantly tells us throughout graduate school..."focus on learning and the grades will follow."

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

I will introduce myself, get to know the student a little to establish the initial relationship, and then ask the student some basic questions to get a grasp on how they feel about the material. As we go through some of the material, I will start making a mental plan for needs to be covered and how in depth we need to go.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

Teaching a student how to think critically is the most important goal of mine. I wholeheartedly believe that in order to think critically, you must first understand the information inside and out. Once I know the student understands the basic information, I will start to challenge the student with tough questions that will force them to think outside the box while furthering their understanding of the material.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

Relaying positive messages and instilling a sense of resiliency into the students would be my main way of keeping them motivated. I am more than willing to do whatever it takes to make sure my students succeed.

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

I would go through various ways of attacking the subject matter, and spend as much time on the subject as the student needed. Depending on the exact subject, I would either reiterate the basic information, or go through many practice problems until the student understands and feels comfortable with the information.

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

I will cover the basic material and do my best to resolve any gaps in the student's knowledge initially, and then help them work through simple problems and increase the difficulty of the problems sequentially until the student is able to think critically through their understanding of the material.

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

It is most helpful to cover the basics and assess where the student is having trouble with the material, and whether the trouble is due to a lack of knowledge or a lack of understanding. Once I understand what the student knows, and where the student is struggling, then I can create a plan to help them.

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

Confidence comes with time and understanding the material. The more we go over what is not understood, and the more time we spend learning the material together, the better understanding the student will have. A better understanding will lead to better grades which will build confidence.