Teaching, to me, is a two-way street. As with every human relationship, both parties learn and grow from one another. I act as a navigator or guide when I am instructing. I give options and methods from which the student can for pick that which best suits him or her. We adjust as needed, with the student learning facts and skills, and I learning how best to convey information. Generally, I like to explain things in several ways and try to use simple analogies and real life examples. I also like practical application scenarios (i.e. practice test or exams) and open-ended questions (i.e. 'How do these two numbers relate to one another?') as they provide the closest thing to real-life experience as possible. I try to be as efficient as possible, conveying the most amount of information in the shortest and simplest way possible.

I prefer to hit the ground running when teaching. I divide a first session into three phases. First, we would spend 15 to 20 minutes getting to know one another. In the middle section, I would ask questions about the difficulties or issues the student is currently facing while simultaneous explaining my experience so that we may both come to a better understanding. Lastly, I would want to do 15 to 20 minutes of sample work in order to get some hand-on experience. I end with a summary of our progress, and may also assign a few bits of work for between sessions.

In my mind, two things most effectively improve learning. First is critical thinking. Here, using reasoning, questions, prediction skills, and hands-on testing (i.e. scientific or reasoning methods) is key to learning. This process improves general processing and learning skills. Second, is a combination of confidence and interest. The more experience, skills, and hand-on practice a student have, the more intrigued they are about forms of learning, the more confident they become in themselves. This is possible through knowledge and chunking, as the more a student is generally able to understand, the more they can assimilate, process, and understand. Hence; by using critical thinking, questioning, logic, confidence, and experience; a student becomes more interested and independent in learning.

I use reflection, encouragement, and recalling past success to keep students motivated. For example, I would reflect a student’s troubles and worry about success so that they can better understand these feelings. Following this, I would encourage the student by highlighting their strengths. Lastly, I would ask the student to relate their past successes and increased skills in order to motivate the student to continue learning.

I approach all problems from multiple angles. If a student is having trouble understanding a concept or question, I first ask the student to thoroughly explain what is causing the difficulty, using questions to help me when necessary. Next, I try to simplify all the variables involved by explaining, using analogies, and relating these concepts to past knowledge. I then ask the student to paraphrase and explain the concepts or variables in order to help them grasp what is happening. Finally, we would re-address the question, skill, or concept together with repetition as necessary to ensure competence and mastery.

Reading can be learned thorough increasing both comprehension and vocabulary skills. First I would encourage and tutor the student the student to use phonetics and prefix, base, and suffix structures (structural analysis). We would use these skills to gradually increase the student vocabulary through breaking down words and eventually sentences to their definitions. If needed, I would also cover English skills such as sentence structure and diagramming sentences.

Generally, I prefer open-ended questions. "What, Who, When, Where, and How" help the student express themselves while giving me vital information about the student. Hopefully, this would let us move onto some practical application scenarios or sample test/quiz questions so that we can target areas to improve.

Generally, people are motivate by success, reinforcement, and encouragement. I prefer to highlight successes, increase motivation through positive reinforcement, and continually encourage those that are experiencing difficulty. I would also work to cultivate interest in the subject through questioning about what specifically the student find enjoyable in the subject and try to relate other areas to what they enjoy.

I prefer questions, both open-ended and specific (i.e. "How does this number relate to the other number?" or "Out of A, B, or C, which is correct?") I also like to have student teach me the subject for a bit, as this help the student gain knowledge and allows me to ask questions and make corrections as needed.

I help students gain confidence through mastery of a subject or specific skills. I try to use questions, use analogies, relate to real life, and then have the student explain the information back to me. Additionally, if a student is comfortable trying to teach me, this can be very helpful in building both confidence and mastery. I find this helpful as the student needs to use several types of reasoning and thinking skills to teach, and it allows me to ask questions and make corrections as necessary.

First, I ask the student to explain their needs and what they want to learn. Following this, I explain my competences and what I can offer. After, I prefer to use real-life and practical application through sample questions, problems, quizzes, and tests to highlight areas of focus. This process is done at the end of the session, at least once every two sessions.

I let the student guide the session as much as possible. I adapt to what the student expresses they need. Additionally, I use frequent discussions of progress and sample questions/quizzes to assess both progress and needs. Once it is clear that I need to adapt, I do so by allowing the student to make recommendations to correct any problems or difficulties that are present.

I use source material and take notes. I prefer to use prepare several relevant sample questions. I also prefer to use both the students’ textbook as well as sample texts I may find from my personal books or online. I also frequently reference notes from previous sessions to help provide continuity. For reference and to increase learning, I would encourage, but not require, a student to take notes as well.