What is your teaching philosophy?

I believe in project based learning and in real-time response and intervention for students. I rely on technology as having the potential to be the greatest game changer our education system has ever seen with the ability to truly individualize instruction for each student. All children can learn, we must prepare our teachers with real time data and invest in tools so that these educators can bring to fruition this new form of education.

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

I think getting to know a student, how they learn best, and setting goals for their study with me is the most important things to include in a first session. We also would need to go over any pressing urgent matters if there are any (like upcoming assignments that the dog may have eaten and are due tomorrow!).

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

Independence comes from confidence, and confidence comes from knowledge. I can help students gain knowledge and with that, they can gain confidence. I desire for every student to learn to become an independent learner.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

I believe students stay motivated when they are having fun and seeing benefits and rewards to what they are doing. All students can have fun, we just have to find their token that motivates them.

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

We need to find what the difficulty is and break it down until it isn't difficult any more. Everything can become simple, sometimes it just takes looking at something from another angle or another viewpoint. Some teachers only teach things one way, and some students can only learn one way. When those ways aren't the same, learning doesn't take place.

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

Reading comprehension usually is a problem when students haven't found that reading is fun. Students have to become engaged in a book that overwhelms them and makes them realize that you can love a book as much as you can love playing a video game. We just have to find a book or a series that engages the student so that they want to remember what they are reading about. Once we get them hooked, then we can move onto the reading for knowledge and apply the comprehension they are gaining on the reading for fun.