What is your teaching philosophy?

I wish to make learning as easy and interesting as possible. I think knowledge should be accessible to all and that a good education is a strong foundation for future achievements.

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

Get to know the student and their personal interest, in order to tie these interest into the learning strategy and to become aware of learning obstacles that may need to be overcome.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

The most important thing to teach a student is how they can learn on their own. This includes problem-solving techniques, research methods, and building confidence in their own abilities. This can be done with practice and positive support.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

Intrinsic motivation is the best form of motivation. This is when students find a use or purpose for learning that makes the time and effort spent learning worthwhile. I will work on achieving this by helping students relate their personal interests and goals with their educational goals.

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

Take a short break, and then try a different approach. There are many ways to learn.

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

There are many excellent software packages that can evaluate a student's reading level and adjust reading material to increase reading comprehension. I personally like to make flashcards for more difficult terms to increase one's vocabulary.

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

Get to know the student, and determine motivation and obstacles to learning. Then having the student take part in developing their learning plan/goal seems to be the best place to start.

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

I would find out what things interest them and tie the lessons to these interest.

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

Mastery of any topic can only be demonstrated through repetition. Anyone can have a good or bad day, but testing the average performance over time through various means will indicate if a student has reached mastery.

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

Data is key for building confidence. Often students do not realize that they are improving. Gathering data throughout the learning processes and showing the student their progress toward reaching short and long term goals will help them become confident in their abilities.

How do you evaluate a student's needs?

I work with the student and their parent/guardian to develop their learning goals. Part of this process is to determine obstacles to achieving goals and to develop processes to assist overcoming these obstacles. Constant feedback and evaluation is needed to determine the effectiveness of these processes.

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

After determining the processes needed to overcome learning obstacles, I manage the application of these processes and constantly evaluate the feedback to make adjustments as necessary.

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

I am a hands on teacher and love to use props, gadgets, and other learning materials when possible to make learning exciting. However, I realize that every student has their own style or styles of learning, and I will adjust to meet their needs. Changing teaching methods can break up stale learning environments.