What is your teaching philosophy?

My teaching philosophy is to do whatever it takes to allow my students to succeed. I believe that every student is capable of achieving success, so it is my goal, as a teacher, to allow students to see and reach their potential.

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

In a typical first session with my students, I like to just work through what they are currently learning so that I can gauge what kind of help they need. Typically, I will make notes of improvements that can be made and make plans/extra questions accordingly.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

I think the biggest key in this is to continue to encourage them. Constantly, I am using words like "almost" just to make sure that my students know they are on the right path to getting the answer.

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

Typically, I will figure out a way to teach it that makes sense to them and make practice problems/lessons for them to continue to do more practice with those kinds of problems.

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

I break down the problem. A lot of times, I will tell them to skip straight to the end to ask them "What is the question asking you to find?" Knowing the answer to this question is half the battle to solving it. After this, we look at the numbers given and try to work our way to the solution.

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

Strategies that have been successful for me in the past include first asking what students are struggling with because a lot of times they know why they are doing poorly. From there, we will work on their assignment, and when an issue arises we will tackle it. Another strategy that has been useful is compiling a list of formulas and equations needed and getting the student's gears turning by asking "when would I use this formula?"

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

I typically will try to relate it to a topic that interests my students. This is engaging for them and allows them to understand the subject better. My enthusiasm for math alone, I believe is also very encouraging for my students.