Mariya P.

I believe in social learning, which entails speaking to students as individuals, listening to them, and treating them with decency and respect. They can't help but become invested in your class if you give them a reason to admire you by making them feel validated. I also believe that students learn best through collaboration and problem solving, hence, I nurture young people's energy and utilize their strengths to facilitate a stimulating and exciting learning environment.

I would begin by learning about the students' strengths and weaknesses with the subject and how they feel they know best. Together we would plan out a schedule that the student is comfortable with and set the learning pace for future sessions. We will also identify the problem areas and zone in on what is necessary to focus on, as well as expectations that their classroom teachers have from them. Additionally, I would provide the students with detailed yet straightforward topic-based notes that they can build upon once they are more comfortable with the content.

During the IB, I was an extremely self-reliant student. I believe independent learning can only happen when a student is motivated and enjoys their work. In every session, I provide a plethora of resources that students can use to help facilitate their learning at home and make myself available at any time for questions or guidance whenever a student is overwhelmed. Because I had taken the IB exams in 2021, I am very well versed in answering and predicting IB-style questions. I would provide the students with question banks so they can practice at home. First, I would observe how they answer questions, then provide examples and help with long and short answer questions to allow them to achieve their best grade.

I find the key to finding motivation is setting achievable short-term goals, especially when it comes to material-heavy subjects such as Biology, where students are required to learn a lot in a short period of time. While a certain goal or problem may seem daunting to a student, when divided into smaller steps, with specific and clear objectives to achieve each lesson, it becomes less of a gargantuan task and helps them build their time management skills. As the student completes each objective, it will boost their self-confidence and allow them to conquer larger and larger problems every day on their own.

Frequently, difficulty in a particular concept originates from a deficiency of structural base knowledge. It is essential as an instructor to take a few steps back with the student and reinforce that structural base knowledge. Other times, learning concepts can be made easier by working through example problems and providing guidance, notes, and visual aids.

During my IB program, I struggled with understanding textbook material; I found that content was explained in complicated terminology, and prior knowledge was always required to comprehend what was happening. I believe general building knowledge, vocabulary, and reasoning/logic skills are vital for comprehension of the subject, especially in material-heavy subjects such as Biology and Chemistry. I help the student through this by assisting them in building a solid knowledge base and providing them with resources and visual aids to help alleviate their struggle.