Sophie M.

My teaching philosophy is to listen to the student. The IB can be a challenging curriculum to wrap one's head around. However, if taught correctly, I believe it is among the most rewarding educational systems. As a teacher, I must equip students with the right learning tools. Every student is different and learns in their way. I must ascertain how the student learns and create lessons to suit the learner.

I will spend a long time getting to know the student in the first session. I want to see why the student is taking extra tuition lessons. Their weakness and strengths. What they know and what they want/need to know and learn. How they prefer to learn (Visual, Auditory, Read/Write, and Kinaesthetic). Are there any learning difficulties, e.g., Dyslexia? How do they think I can help them? I will then explain who I am to try and establish a great rapport with the student. We will then move on to a few pop quizzes and revision questions. Once I have a complete picture of the student and their needs, I will be able to integrate this into our following lessons.

I will employ the following strategies in my lessons for the student to become an independent learner. Firstly, helping the student create a revision schedule allows them to self-monitor their learning journey. We will develop mini-goals and short-term and long-term goals to become independent lifelong learners. I will empower students to take the lead in lessons, to talk, find their articles and bring them to classes. Encourage transdisciplinary inquiry. Students can be encouraged to ask questions and make links between concepts. This can help students gain an understanding of a unit that is more connected to their personal experience. Ensure students are reflective and keep a diary. What went well and what did not? This can help them maintain and analyze their progress toward achieving their goals.

I would promote a growth mindset over a fixed mindset. Sometimes students tell themselves that they cannot do something, and as teachers, we must emphasize that they can establish clear and reasonable goals. Develop meaningful and respectful relationships with my students.

I would try a different approach to my teaching. A student may prefer an other method of learning for specific topics.

When starting a text, I would first ask the student to read it at home and underline unknown words. Teaching vocabulary helps because students with poor comprehension often have poor vocabulary skills and understand less of what they hear. I must guide new words' meanings through multisensory strategies like mind maps, pictures, and mnemonics. Improving their overall language skills increases the likelihood that they will understand the terms they encounter in written text.

A relaxed attitude, respect, understanding, NEVER criticizing, and always encouraging.

Make it accessible to them. Use texts, examples, case studies, and literature from the world around them. For instance, with a Greek student, I may use a business case study from a Greek company that they see daily. For literature, find texts dealing with issues, themes, and symbolism related to teenage lives.

At the end of every lesson, we will have a plenary; a plenary in teaching is to review aims and consolidate the student's learning. It is an evaluative part of a lesson, where students can reflect on what they have learned and achieved during the class: small quizzes and oral questions about the lesson's topic.

Most students have lost their confidence because of poor teaching, large classes, or harsh criticism. It is up to me to make the student understand that it is my job to help them realize their full potential in my lesson—lots of positive reinforcement and encouragement.

Using formative assessments, which are short, informal, targeted tests administered during lessons, to help me gauge whether the student understands critical concepts. They can assess students’ prior knowledge or their current understanding of content. From this, I can see where the student needs help.

It is essential to know the different learning styles of my students and be sure to present my information in several different ways. Multisensory learning, interactive learning, creating images, vision boards, and mind maps. Whatever the student needs to get as much as they can from my lessons.

My worksheets, interactive quizzes, games, e-books, IB textbooks, and Youtube.