Stephanie
Certified Tutor
I am a graduate of Florida Atlantic University with a BA in English Education. I currently hold a certification in Elementary Education and a Reading Endorsement. Since beginning my career teaching middle school Intensive reading I have developed a strong background in Language Arts. From there I have branched out teaching ages from primary school all the way up to upper secondary in subjects including ELA, Science and Math though I tutor in much more. I have worked in two of the most diverse areas of the United States Houston, Texas and South Florida. As of now I am a 5th Grade Virtual School Teacher working with students in all subjects including intensive. I have a wealth of international experience as well I was offered a job as an Education Consultant for an International School in Sweden. In my spare time I spend time in other countries having been to over 40 in the past few years. I am also an avid reader which is allows me to travel to different imaginary worlds as well! I love yoga, spending time with my beautiful nieces, husband and dog!
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Undergraduate Degree: Florida Atlantic University - Bachelors, English Education
Graduate Degree: American College of Education - Masters, Educational Leadership
Traveling, yoga, reading, spending time with family and friends.
- Arithmetic
- College English
- College Essays
- Elementary Math
- Elementary School Math
- English
- English Grammar and Syntax
- Essay Editing
- FCAT 2.0 Prep
- High School English
- Homework Support
- Math
- Middle School Math
- Other
- Reading
- Study Skills
- Study Skills and Organization
- Test Prep
- Writing
What is your teaching philosophy?
I believe in fostering the whole student through differentiated instruction building upon the skills and knowledge that they already have and filling in the gaps. This ensures that no student falls through the cracks. I believe that before you can reach them you have to build a relationship with that student, which is done by creating engaging and interactive student led lessons that lean toward the student's individual interests.
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
With a first session I would take the time to get to know my students and families. I would take the time to get to know the students individual interests as well as their learning styles, strengths and weaknesses so we can make an individualized plan on how to succeed!
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
To help a student become an independent learner with targeted and effective feedback on the student's performance. When the student has a direction to proceed in the area they are working on, they know how to move forward. Also working with the gradual release method. Showing the student how to do the work, working on it together and then having the student work on the work themselves.
How would you help a student stay motivated?
I would help students stay motivated by building a rapport with the students. I would get to know what they like and dislike, and then target the lessons to this. I work with the parents to come up with a reward system to motivate the students to succeed.
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
I would approach the skill from multiple different angles until the student shows mastery of the subject. If the student is showing that they are struggling in reading comprehension, we would work with multiple different active reading strategies until growth is shown. If no growth is shown, we need to alter the intervention and come at it from a different angel.
How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?
There are multiple different active reading strategies that we can, try from text marking to modeled think alouds.
What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?
When you start working with a new student it is very important to build a relationship with them. Find out what drives the student. It is very easy to become a 'talking head' and have the student no longer see you as a real person. Also when starting with a new student it is important to gauge where they are in the subject you are teaching.
How would you help a student get excited/engaged with a subject that they are struggling in?
To help them get excited and engaged I would target the lesson to the likes and dislikes of the student.
What techniques would you use to be sure that a student understands the material?
I would use practice techniques and feed forward to push the student further and deepen the knowledge and understanding of the material.
How do you build a student's confidence in a subject?
Positive and targeted feedback will build a student’s confidence. A student is oftentimes frustrated with the fact that they have a low understanding or that it takes them longer to complete the material. My job as a tutor is to turn that lack of confidence into a strong confidence.
How do you adapt your tutoring to the student's needs?
With differentiated instruction and really targeting my students and their interests.
What types of materials do you typically use during a tutoring session?
Being a teacher, I come with a wealth of resources, including digital lessons and books containing practice problems, and differentiated material to meet the needs of many different levels of students and subjects.