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

Get to know their expectations and interests. Set the goals and make the plans - begin working towards those goals.

What is your teaching philosophy?

That everyone is smart, period! The trick to success is that they learn according to the style that best fits them.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

Find out what their own personal goals are, and make detailed doable systematic plans that can help them hit those goals. The more they hit the goals with me, the more they will want to hit goals on their own.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

Praise, praise, and then praise some more. Nobody will continue to put forth effort towards a goal if they don't feel like their effort makes a difference. I don't care if the improvement is from 67% to 68%; that is still an improvement. It is through these small doable improvements that true success and change occurs.

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

Slow down the pace. How slow? Until the student is able to see measurable progress. It's a lot easier on an engine to a car if you shift into a lower gear going up a hill. because once the peak is reached, the other side is nothing but coasting!

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

Adjust the goals and understand the concept of foundations: that once basics are mastered, the complex intricacies are no longer complex. This is done by slowing down the pace and celebrating small successes.

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

By hitting the small goals. Over time, the students will begin to see improvement in their abilities; this will increase desire to continue working, increase confidence, and increase curiosity and questions during tutoring sessions.

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

When they hit the small goals, it's extremely important that the goals seem small to THEM. Because if they are struggling to hit a goal set for the day, then the goal is too large, meaning that they do not YET understand the material.

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

Praising everything good about the student and hitting small goals to what seems to them to be a fast rate.

How do you evaluate a student's needs?

The first thing to do is to ask them. Even if the student may not have an accurate gauge on their own ability, this allows them to feel that they are respected by the tutor and will become more open to criticism. See where the strongest negative emotional response occurs (no matter how big or small the response is); this is usually where mental labels/blocks are usually found. Understand where those feelings come from, and destroy the label by accomplishing the goals they feel would make that label untrue.

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

- Asking if the student likes the methods we are using to learn the material. - Being emotionally positive so they feel that they can be completely honest with you. - Usually facial expressions and energy levels are super good indicators.

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

It depends on the student's goals. If they are interested in skateboarding, then I will use a skateboard to teach. -Flashcards, markers ( for memorization games). -Objects in the student's room (online students). -Objects in my room ( for online students). -Objects in the location where the tutoring session occurs (tutoring on location). -My own set of Chinese dictionaries, news and translating websites, Chinese television shows, movie clips and Chinese newspapers found in my local China town. -Websites or papers that explain concepts clearer if their textbook is too vague.