What is your teaching philosophy?

I consider teaching an interactive process. It's exciting to discover and build on the student's knowledge and life experience.

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

Our first session would actually be a second session. I would like to meet with my student before the actual learning session to see who we are, discuss our expectations and goals, and how each session will generally proceed.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

Independent learners follow their own interests and teach themselves quite ingeniously all the time. It is their interest that drives the success. So, it is important for the learner to apply the learning in their fields of interests all the time. Because of my training in teaching methodology, I experienced that spoon-feeding, or telling a student information, is a very inefficient way to learn for the long retention. Students must understand their participation from the beginning is important to their overall success.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

Motivation is tied to success. For some students, stretching their abilities is a source of motivation. For other students, who have more academic learning challenges, minimal stretch and more safe answering is the way.

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

We always return to the prior learning to build new concepts. The student who has mastered the earlier learning will then see the connection to the current material.

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

Comprehending or understanding what we read can be strengthened through the following ways: Prior to reading, do a picture walk. Predict what will happen in the story. Read and retell the story or the page. Visualize the story as you read. Take notes. Always, always, always apply the reading to the student's real-life situations.

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

Introduce ourselves to each other, ask the student how they best learn, speak positively about the student's potential, and have back-up games to reinforce learning.

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

I have answered this in prior questions.

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

I would give short quizzes. Initially, I want the student to use the book to find the answers.

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

This has been answered sufficiently in past questions.

How do you evaluate a student's needs?

I evaluate a student's needs using a pretest, either written or verbal.

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

This has already been answered.