Jean-Pierre
Certified Tutor
I graduated with a Masters of Arts in Curriculum & Instruction from Nova Southeastern University (Davie, FL). I earned my Bachelor of Science in Humanities with a concentration on Education from Dominican College of Blauvelt (Orangetown, NY). I graduated with dual certification in general and special education. Since graduation, I have taught in the state of New York for a couple of years, and then relocated to Georgia where I have been teaching for the past 7 years. For 5 of those 7 years, I have had the privilege to teach in self-contained and interrelated classrooms. My primary language is French. I am currently employed as a full time French instructor with a Charter School in the Metro Atlanta area. Though I am certified to teach all subjects, I have decided to focus on French at this moment. I currently hold certification in the following areas: French (grades K-12); Math, Language Arts, Science, and Social Studies (K-8 for general education & K-12 for special education). I am not new to tutoring. I have provided tutoring services to a well-known online company for students from grades K-6 in math and reading. I also provided tutoring services to young and adult alike in French at all levels. My background as both a special education teacher and French instructor in grades K-12 equips me with the knowledge and the patience to get the job done. In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my family, traveling, and playing basketball with my son.
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Undergraduate Degree: Dominican College of Blauvelt (NY) - Bachelor of Science, Elementary/Middle grade Education
Graduate Degree: Nova Southeastern University (FL) - Master of Science, Curriculum & instruction
Spend time with my family, travel, and play basketball with my son.
What is your teaching philosophy?
All students can learn, regardless of his/her disability, socio-economic or racial backgrounds.
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
Build a relationship, provide a class syllabus, and go over basic information pertaining to the course.
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
By teaching the student the skills that enable him/her to think critically. Instead of providing a student with easy answers, a teacher can be a facilitator by allowing a student to research and brainstorm for his/her own answers.
How would you help a student stay motivated?
It depends on age and the student learning style; the teacher can help the student stay motivated by assigning classroom jobs. Most students will see classroom jobs as a privilege rather than a burden and will work hard to ensure that they, and other students, are meeting expectations.
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
I would approach the concept or skill in a different manner, provide the student with additional help when needed, reflect on my teaching to ask and find out why that particular skill or concept wasn't understood by the student.
How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?
Teachers can help students who are struggling with reading comprehension by teaching them how to draw inferences. Proficient readers use their prior knowledge about a topic and the information they have gathered in the text thus far to make predictions about what might happen next.
What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?
I found connecting background knowledge to make connections between new and known information to be very effective.
How would you help a student get excited/engaged with a subject that they are struggling in?
I would probe the student to find out his/her favorite thing to do, and integrate it into the concept or skill to make it more fun.
What techniques would you use to be sure that a student understands the material?
Assessments should be ongoing. Teachers can use questioning strategies that are used with the whole group or individuals. Use hand signals as a quick and easy way to check for understanding.
How do you build a student's confidence in a subject?
There are many ways to build student confidence. One of the most effective ways is to break longer assignments into smaller, more manageable trunks so that students won’t be overwhelmed at the thought of a long task.
How do you evaluate a student's needs?
In order to evaluate a student's needs, the teacher must match the needs with course strategies, methods, and activities that will facilitate learning. The instructor has two main tasks related to matching student needs. The first is to create a plan that meets group needs, and the second is to verify that the plan embraces the individual student’s needs.
How do you adapt your tutoring to the student's needs?
Tutoring can be adapted to student's needs by assessing the student.
What types of materials do you typically use during a tutoring session?
A typically used an iPad loaded with French apps that are designed to help the student succeed.