Philimon S.

My vision of teaching is to inspire students to be independent and critical thinkers that can apply their knowledge.

In the first session, I would introduce myself to the student and get to know them so that we could build a good rapport. Then I would ask some questions to gauge their understanding of the subject. From there, I would ask them to work through some problems to see how they think.

To become independent, students must first learn how they learn best. As a tutor, you need to try various teaching methods and styles and gauge which ones are the most effective with the student's feedback. Once the students know how they learn best, you can give them more independence. In the beginning, they will still need support and scaffolding, but as they mature as learners, they will need less and less.

To keep a student motivated, you need to tap into their extrinsic motivation (obtaining a particular grade) and intrinsic motivation (why they chose the subject). To do this, you must cultivate a good rapport with the student. Sometimes you need to adapt the lesson style depending on the student's motivation on the day.

I would use various materials to explain the concept from another angle. For example, I can use an analogy from an everyday life experience instead of just describing the idea. Or I can use animations, simulations, or 3D models to explain abstract concepts.

Students often struggle with interpreting exam questions. To help them, I would get them to highlight keywords and ignore the superfluous pieces of information. If they work with particular words, I will provide them with synonyms.

When you start working with a student, you must keep tasks simple to build their confidence. With time you increase the level of complexity.

You must give positive feedback even if they perform a small task well. This helps build up their confidence. It would be best if you also found a way to relate a subject to everyday life through analogies.

You need to question the student regularly and get them to answer some problems.

To build a student´s confidence in a subject you need to start with simple tasks and give positive reinforcement. With time they will see that they are capable of performing well and have the confidence to try harder tasks.

Through questioning, you can find out a student´s weaknesses and strengths. You can also judge which teaching style suits the student by their engagement.

Depending on engagement and areas of strengths and weaknesses, I will use different teaching styles and resources.

I typically use Slides, images, videos, simulations, and animations.