What is your teaching philosophy?

My teaching philosophy is student-centric. I try to help my students find the answers for themselves through motivation, scaffolding, and redirection.

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

During our first session, I would like to get to know a student and what s/he wishes to study or improve upon. I would also like to get to know the student personally in order to create a comfortable learning environment.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

I can help a student become an independent learner by showing her/him study skills that will help her/his study skills. I try to do this through modeling, note taking, and mnemonic devices.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

I try to help my students stay motivated through positive encouragement, active listening, and compassion. I always try to help my students believe in themselves and to work past their struggles.

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

When my students express that they find something difficult, I always ask the following: what is the problem, how can I help, how can we look at this another way to make it easier to understand? I try not to let my students get discouraged, and help them in any way I can when they face a difficult subject or concept.

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

In my experience, reading comprehension can be improved in multiple ways. Some activities I have tried in the past have been story retelling, mind maps, outlining, and narrative drawing. I always try to tailor my lessons and delivery to best suit my students.

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

The best strategy I use is just to listen to my students' wants, needs, and concerns. The best thing a teacher or tutor can do is listen to her/his students in order to develop lessons based on what they need.

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

I try to get my students excited about subjects by showing an active interest in it myself. If my students don't share my enthusiasm, I try to see what they like and how I can incorporate their likes into the subject we're currently studying.

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

*redirection *retelling *art *reteaching *summarizing *writing

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

I build my students' confidence by being an available teacher who actively listens. I also encourage my students through compassion, positivity, and dedication.

How do you evaluate a student's needs?

I evaluate my students' needs through conversation. I find that tests, while helpful in assessing ability, often repel students. I think evaluation through conversation and skill demonstration is less intimidating, and just as accurate as tests.

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

Being a student-centric teacher allows me to easily adapt to my students' needs. As a teacher, I understand that each individual understands and processes information differently. It is my duty to help my students process information to the best of their abilities, and in a way that makes most sense to them.

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

Depending on what we're studying, I often try to incorporate materials that my students enjoy talking or learning about to boost their language skills. For example, if my student shows an interest in science or mathematics, I try to have that student incorporate those interests into the language skills we're trying to improve.