What is your teaching philosophy?

My philosophy is that every student can improve their skills with time and effort, and that learning is always possible.

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

I believe that the teacher-tutor relationship is really important. During the first session, I may spend some time getting to know the student as well as what he or she thinks his or her strengths and weaknesses are.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

I help students become independent learners by helping them to realize that results are produced through their own curiosity and effort.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

I really like to highlight students' strengths to them. Sometimes, too much focus can be on what they feel they struggle with, and they do not give themselves enough credit for their unique strengths.

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

I like to ask students why they think the skill or concept is difficult, and from there uncover a pattern or reason why they are not understanding. Sometimes it is because they believe a more basic concept to be true when it is in fact false. I would help them to realize this for themselves.

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

I like to take a particularly difficult paragraph and spend some time with the student trying to understand it. Sometimes this means reading the paragraph several times and identifying the important information.

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

I like to ask them what they believe they struggle with and what they believe they excel in. From there, I like to spend some time going over the directions, as I find they can be easily misinterpreted. Understanding the directions is half the battle in some cases.

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

If the student is younger, I like to use a reward system. If they are older, I like to display my own sincere enthusiasm for the subject at hand.

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

I ask follow-up questions to ensure the student understands the material.

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

I like to praise them for correct answers. I never criticize for incorrect answers.

How do you evaluate a student's needs?

I like to spend some time evaluating a student's needs during the first session. If they are older, I like to ask them what they think their needs are directly at the beginning.

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

If a student does not respond well to one of my methods, I immediately think of alternatives that will address their specific needs.

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

I have always like to use a lot of scratch paper (with older students), as I find working with examples can be very helpful. For younger students, I enjoy using stickers or colored markers to highlight points.