Bassem
Certified Tutor
Undergraduate Degree: American University of Beirut - Bachelors, Civil Engineering
Graduate Degree: Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus - Masters, Civil Engineering
Traveling, Acting
Arabic
Civil and Environmental Engineering
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics
GRE Subject Tests
Statics
What is your teaching philosophy?
I try to be as approachable as possible with my students, making them comfortable asking all the questions that can help them improve their areas of weakness and increase their skill level.
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
I would introduce myself and talk about my education, experience and schedule. Then I would let my student introduce himself and talk about his background and explain to me the skills that he wants to have improved. Then I would check the chapters to be covered and show him the way I teach. We can start with an easy sample as a beginning.
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
I would ask him to read a chapter that needs to be covered in my session before I meet with him. Then, I'd try to figure out what he learned and give him the search tools to achieve his goals.
How would you help a student stay motivated?
I try to provide a few minutes of rest in between studies before moving to a newer topic or problem. Also, I try to relieve the stress by having a sense of humor. I also try to make the student enthusiastic about the outcome of his work in case he succeeds, such as passing an entrance exam that allows him to be accepted to his dream college or major.
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
I would try to figure out his weakness by deciphering the causes that led to his misunderstanding. Then I would provide visuals, simple examples and analogies to help him better understand the concept.
How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?
I would have them read the text more than once. Afterwards, I would try to focus on the sentences or words that they misunderstood and walk them through the text step by step.
What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?
First, I would try to establish an approachable relationship to make the student feel comfortable asking any type of question. Then, I would start with simple concepts and examples. Whenever I feel the student is grasping the concept, I start increasing the level of complexity of my problems.
How would you help a student get excited/engaged with a subject that they are struggling in?
I would have them think about the fruitful outcome in case they succeed and get good results in the topic they are studying. Every time I feel they learned something, I would congratulate them and make them feel they achieved a goal. This way they keep getting motivated.
What techniques would you use to be sure that a student understands the material?
I would ask theoretical questions to figure out whether my student understood the concept. Once this is achieved, I give examples and problems that help him improve his skills and apply the concept he learned.
How do you build a student's confidence in a subject?
After he solves many problems and achieves good results, I congratulate him and make him feel he is ready to move to a different level or topic.
How do you evaluate a student's needs?
I first check what materials need to be covered. Then I ask general questions about what he feels he lacks. And throughout my teaching, I can figure out which areas he needs improvement in by checking the results of his problem solving.
How do you adapt your tutoring to the student's needs?
I keep focusing on the areas of weaknesses until the student improves. I would allocate more time and depth to these areas until the student achieves his goal.
What types of materials do you typically use during a tutoring session?
A study book, problems, printed slides, PowerPoint presentations and my own notes.