Alesia
Certified Tutor
I completed my undergraduate degree in Psychology at the University of Connecticut. I also completed a Master's in Education at Southern CT State University. This summer I am excited to begin my Educational Leadership degree in order to obtain my certification to be a school principal!
I am currently a 1st grade teacher. I love working with students and helping them to reach their goals! Learning should be intriguing and engaging, and I take pride in making it so for my students.
While I am very familiar with elementary, I also love literature and psychology at the middle and high school level. I also know what it likes to take a rigorous standardized test and feel unprepared. In addition to my work in the classroom, I want to extend my reach and work with students at all levels.
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Undergraduate Degree:University of Connecticut- Bachelors, Psychology
Graduate Degree:Southern Connecticut State University- Masters, Education
I love working with students. I also love animals!
- 1st Grade Math
- Arithmetic
- College English
- Elementary Math
- Elementary School Math
- English
- English Grammar and Syntax
- Essay Editing
- High School English
- Math
- Middle School Math
- Phonics
- Reading
- Writing
What is your teaching philosophy?
"Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn."
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
Get to know each other. It's important that students feel a connection with their teacher/tutor. Without a positive culture, the student will not be invested. The student shouldn't feel any pressure during the first session.
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
By helping the student to develop a growth mindset. If a student believes that the harder they work, the better they will do (and that intelligence is not fixed), the more motivated they will be to become an independent learner.
How would you help a student stay motivated?
By being consistent and giving constant feedback. Students need to know that they are being held accountable and that they will receive specific feedback in order to continue to improve.
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
It truly depends on the student. As a tutor, it is my job to figure out what works for a student. I need to determine what type of learner the student is. Maybe visual cues are not working and I need to take a kinesthetic approach. However, it depends entirely on the student and my willingness to use various strategies.
How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?
I would attempt different strategies. I would determine if their reading fluency is intact. Maybe the student is reading too slow or sounding out too many words, so we have to take a step back and work on that. If fluency is not the issue, maybe the student needs to learn how to chunk their reading. So maybe reading short chunks and answering comprehension questions, or retelling the story. I would also work with the student to dig deep into the text.
What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?
Developing a positive relationship and determining what motivates them is key. It is also essential to determine the best way the student learns information.
How would you help a student get excited/engaged with a subject that they are struggling in?
Make real-life connections. Students will not be invested if they do not understand the purpose behind what they are learning.
What techniques would you use to be sure that a student understands the material?
Check for understanding, and self-assessment by the student.
How do you build a student's confidence in a subject?
By ensuring that they have the proper background knowledge. If students have no background knowledge, they will not be confident. So I may need to do some extra work/research to build that.
How do you evaluate a student's needs?
Through assessment. I cannot possibly know where a student is starting at without a pre-assessment.
How do you adapt your tutoring to the student's needs?
I may find that the student needs some remediation besides that their actual tutoring goals are. I may also find the student is further along than they thought. I have to pay close attention and ensure that I am looking for any and everything that will push my student.