What is your teaching philosophy?

I believe in building student confidence first and foremost. There is no such thing as a "dumb" question because struggling in itself makes a person a better student, it teaches one to work through adversity. My overall goal is that I want to teach my students how to learn more efficiently and how to have more classroom success, while kindling a passion for knowledge that lasts a lifetime.

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

My first session typically involves discussing expectations in terms of grades, how often the student wants to meet, their learning style, what their past struggles have been, and what their goals are for the class. If they have the syllabus for the class we will go over it and talk about any concerns they have regarding the class. The first meeting for me is all about setting goals, getting a feel for each other's style, and most of all seeing if I'm a good fit for the student.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

In my opinion, independent learning has a lot to do with organization of new information. It can be easy to be overwhelmed with content in a class, but over time a student can learn how to work to their strengths in terms of how they take notes, how they study, developing a relationship with the teacher, and being confident in their abilities. There are so many strategies and tools out there, autonomous learning just involves the student and I finding the ones that fit them best.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

I know all too well the dangers of procrastination and laziness. In my personal experience, and with my clients, lack of motivation has mostly been rooted in either fear or boredom. Encouraging the student and building confidence has been a sure way to remove hopelessness and the resulting dislike of a subject in my experience. Also by relating some of what the client is learning to real things, learning can be more fun. In my opinion, the number one way to keep a student motivated is by helping them be successful.

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

It can be incredibly frustrating when you look at the same page, when you read it over and over again, and it still seems like its in an unknown language. If possible, I would try to use a different example or explanation for the concept or skill, but if all else fails we go backwards or forwards. Sometimes by reviewing the aspects a concept is based on, everything falls into place. Even learning about what the concept or skill is leading to or how it will be applied can provide further clarity. The worst thing a student can do is stay and get frustrated on something that just isn't clicking.

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

When I've had trouble in the past understanding something I've read in Spanish, or something that is really dense, I try to put it in my own words. I apply this with my students, if they have trouble understanding what they read I ask them to tell me what the general idea behind what they read was. Typically by discussing the content and encouraging critical thought, the students are able to get a much better grasp on the content.

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

In my experience, asking as many questions as I can has been the most successful strategy when starting to work with a student. It sounds counterintuitive since I'm the one who should have the answers, but a lot of times my students are shy, ashamed, or unsure what to ask and when to ask it. So I try to encourage constructive dialogue and listen to what they need from me so they feel comfortable asking about what they may be afraid to ask in class. In my tutoring sessions, the student should talk just as much as I do, and feel comfortable asking any school question.

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

I'd say 90% of the problem with unengaged students is lack of confidence. If a person doesn't care, then it doesn't matter to them if they fail so they detach out of fear of rejection. Getting a student re-interested in a subject is all about baby steps. First, by setting a realistic goal for a grade, every minor accomplishment means a lot more. Next, we work on a lot of practice problems together. Initially I will be doing most of the work on them, but I'll slowly start asking the student for more and more input until they are doing the problems by themselves. By giving the student small victories while practicing concepts and problems, giving them questions I know they can answer but they don't think they can, it starts the slow process of building the student's interest again.

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

Usually quizzing and practice problems, also if the student can explain the concept to me in their own words, that shows comprehension to me. In my opinion teaching is a great way to solidify knowledge, so having the student teach it back to me does wonders.

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

I build a student's confidence by having them answer small simple questions at first then slowly build up to more complex applications so that they can keep pace and understand. I also try to instill that being wrong isn't bad when we're learning, and that a mistake is nothing to be ashamed of as long as we learn from it. Everyone struggles; it’s our attitude towards adversity that determines whether we move forward in my opinion.

How do you evaluate a student's needs?

I typically have a student either give me some of their recent work in the class or take a pre-test for me. Then we discuss what types of things they tend to struggle with so I can customize a plan for the specific student.

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

I adapt to their needs by using different resources and tactics. Maybe one student is more autonomous and I'm there more to supervise and explain what they get wrong. Another student might be a visual learner so drawing out problems and examples would be how I go about tutoring them. Really I just try to adopt the style that has worked best for them in the past since I have tutored a lot of different types of students.

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

I typically use the student's textbook and notes, if they don't have either of those sometimes I can bring my notes from old classes and I have access to a variety of textbooks. Additionally, I will utilize practice problems and tests from various tutor resources, and occasionally other educational content from online.