What is your teaching philosophy?

I believe the best learning occurs on an individual level that is sensitive to a student's needs and is grounded in good and open communication.

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

I like to get to know a little bit about students, especially their hopes and dreams in regards to education. I also like to find out what kind of writing issues they might be struggling with before we get into the specific assignment in which they need help. Building a good rapport is important. From there, I think it is necessary for students to read their work aloud so they can hear how it sounds and feels to a potential audience or teacher. After that, we can address larger issues of content and structure and whether or not the requirements of the assignment are being met. Lastly, we can tackle issues related to clarity, sentence, and grammar. My hope is that students will feel encouraged and motivated by the end of a session where I can offer tips and strategies to help them in the future.