Jewel
Certified Tutor
Have you ever had a dream come true? Well, I have. Working with children to learn has always been a dream of mine. When I was a young girl I would cherish the times when I was the teacher (play) and my friends and relatives were students. I would spend hours playing and pretending that I was the instructor. Now that I have experienced being the teacher for 18 years, I just can't get enough of working with children. This is why I am now a tutor. Working with children to learn has allowed me to live my dream over and over seeing the gleam in their eyes and hearing the joy in their voices as they unlock the key to a vast horizon. I received my Elementary Certification from The University of Missouri, in 1979. I later returned to school and received my Master's Degree in Educational Leadership from the University of Arkansas in 2011.
I tutor Math (grades 1-3), Phonics, and Reading (grades 1-5). My favorite subject to tutor is beginning level reading which includes phonics. The reason I enjoy teaching beginning level reading is because I believe that mastering phonics gives children a foundation in which to build on in order to become fluent readers. I believe all students can learn and I teach to the students' learning style giving them multiple ways of being successful.
Connect with a tutor like Jewel
Undergraduate Degree: UMKC - Bachelors, Elementary Education
Graduate Degree:Arkansas State University-Main Campus- Masters, Educational Leadership
My personal interests are reading, enjoying a good comedy movie, and attending church.
- College English
- Elementary Math
- Elementary School Math
- English
- High School English
- Math
- Phonics
- Reading
What is your teaching philosophy?
I believe that all children can learn when given the right tools, motivation, and support.
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
In a first session I would get to know the needs of the tutee. I would give pre assessments and have the tutee tell me something about their likes and study habits.
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
I can help a student become an independent learner by teaching him/her strategies to increase their ability to grasp knowledge. Once they see how much fun it is to learn, then they will want to try the strategies on their own.
How would you help a student stay motivated?
Giving a student tools to use when they feel "stuck," increases their willingness to try. Once they experience real success then they will stay motivated on their own.
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
I would give repeated practice if a student had difficulty learning a skill or concept. In addition, I would not move on from that skill or concept until they master it. Finally, I would review the skill or concept periodically to ensure that they indeed have deep understanding and can apply it.
What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?
The strategies that I have found most successful when starting to work with a student are finding out their interests and using them as a tool to incorporate learning, teaching to the student’s learning style, allowing enough time for the student to be successful before moving on to the next concepts, and giving them a chance to find solutions on their own to problems.
How would you help a student get excited/engaged with a subject that they are struggling in?
I would help a student get excited/engaged with a subject that they are struggling in by using something they are interested in and including it as part of the learning process. Using familiar knowledge to learn new knowledge helps a student, because he/she already has some background knowledge of the concept, and that gets them excited/engaged about the new concepts to be learned.
What techniques would you use to be sure that a student understands the material?
Finding out if the student has any background knowledge, giving examples, allowing plenty of practice, reviewing, and letting the student apply what he/she has learned would help me be sure that a student understands the material.
How do you build a student's confidence in a subject?
You build a student's confidence in a subject by giving him plenty of exposure and practice.
How do you evaluate a student's needs?
The ways in which I evaluate student's needs is through pre-assessment, formative assessment, review of work, and questioning.
How do you adapt your tutoring to the student's needs?
I adapt my tutoring to the student's needs by developing an individual education plan.
What types of materials do you typically use during a tutoring session?
I use teacher-made materials, adopted assessments, worksheets, PowerPoint, and online materials and tools.
How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?
I help students who are struggling with reading comprehension by determining with diagnostic test what skills that they are inefficient in, and reteaching those skills. I give opportunities to read aloud and answer comprehension questions in order to increase their understanding of the story, and I teach reading strategies for them to use in order to better understand what is being read.