What is your teaching philosophy?

Students must be provided with the level of intensive instruction that they need to improve. Teachers must be able to adapt to the needs of their students, using evidence-based practices and the students' strengths to help support areas of need. Some children need more support than others to be able to access the same opportunities, and my goal is to provide the best support possible to these children.

What might you do in a typical first session with a student?

I would do a short "get to know you" activity to start building a positive relationship between us. I would also have the student, parent and I, set some goals as a team. I would then have the student complete initial activities to serve as a screener to assess their present levels.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

I firmly believe in direct instruction followed by a gradual release of responsibility. This starts with teacher modeling of a skill, practicing the skill together, and the student performing the skill independently. This process is on a skill-by-skill basis so students can increase confidence and ability progressively to support further skill acquisition.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

I like to design a positive reinforcement system on a student-by-student basis. Each individual child finds different things motivating. Revisiting the goals we set at our initial session and revising them as needed also helps students focus while keeping the big picture in mind. I also look to collaborate with parents to keep students motivated for practice outside of the lessons.

If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?

I always start by utilizing students' strengths to build on their areas of need. I would give them strategies and provide scaffolding to help them succeed. Having experienced success, I would gradual decrease my involvement when performing that skill until we reached independent mastery.