My teaching philosophy is that every student has the potential to learn, but each in his or her own unique way. Understanding each student's unique learning style as well as what motivates him or her to achieve new goals is essential in the teaching process.

In a typical first session with a student, I would introduce myself, including discussing my background and teaching philosophy. I would also ask the student to introduce themselves, discussing their interests and the academic goals that he or she wants to achieve. We would discuss the regular schedule that we would want to establish as well, including where and when to meet on a weekly basis. We would also discuss what resources we would be using and get started on what the student is currently working on.

I can help a student become an independent learner by teaching him or her study skills to aid in processing and retaining content. I can also help the student to organize his or her materials and information in ways that help make studying more efficient, such as by using two- and three-column notes and graphic organizers.

If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, I would first have the student complete some practice questions that involve the skill or concept with which he or she is having trouble. I would then review these problems with the student to hone in on which part of the skill or concept he or she does not understand. I would then focus on different ways to reteach the concept or skill, focusing on the component that is most hindering understanding.

There are several key tenets of reading comprehension on which we would need to focus when working on this particular skill. Increasing vocabulary by honing both dictionary skills and context clue skills would be crucial. Working on key skills such as making inferences and interpreting figurative language would also be essential. A pre-assessment may be a good idea to determine which skills we need to work on the most, especially in preparing for a state assessment.

When starting to work with a student, one strategy that I have found to be useful is performing a learning styles inventory to see what type of learner the student is (audio, visual, kinesthetic, etc.). Therefore, material can be presented to the learner in the way that it will be best retained. Getting to know what motivates and interests the student is also a good strategy in order to help students relate to the content and see why they need to learn it.

I would help a student get engaged with a subject that he or she is struggling in by using a variety of resources to present information, including visuals such as photos, charts, graphs and videos. I would also use every opportunity I had to relate the content to the student's everyday life, helping the student to see the pertinence of what he or she is learning.

To be sure that a student understands the material, I would implement constant written and verbal checks for understanding. I would do this by asking key questions to ensure that the student understands every aspect of what is being studied.

I would build a student's confidence in a subject by starting the student off with questions from the Remember and Understand levels of Bloom's Taxonomy before working our way up to questions at the level of Analyze, Evaluate and Create.

I would evaluate a student's needs by looking at past assignments and assessments given by his or her teacher, or by giving my own assessment, if necessary, to determine on which key areas we need to focus.

I adapt my tutoring to my students' needs by implementing constant checks for understanding. I look at the results of these checks for understanding to determine what concepts I may need to review with the student or reteach in different ways.

During a tutoring session, I try to use the materials that the student already has, particularly if the student if supposed to use those specific materials to complete his or her assignments. Depending on the subject, I also bring in outside resources, such as standardized test preparation materials, worksheets and practice questions from key websites that I use as resources in my classroom.