Altagrace
Certified Tutor
I am a licensed psychotherapist and published journalist. I am an alumna of Florida International University, where I was a dual-degree student, having triple majored in journalism, French, and psychology. I am simply here to facilitate the learning process for all students, by allowing them to realize their fullest academic potential.
My overall tutoring approach is dependent upon the personality, learning speed, and general academic needs of each student. I want to make the learning process as fun and as painless as humanly possible, and that's exactly what will occur with each and every session. All of my lessons are tailor-made, and feedback is always welcomed because learning is a two-way street.
Join me and let's make some academic magic!
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Undergraduate Degree: Florida International University - Bachelors, Communication and Psychology
Reading, writing, photography, social media, psychology, world languages, soccer, the 90s, and pizza.
What is your teaching philosophy?
Success takes time and effort, so make the time!
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
Ask general personal questions, in order to get a sense of who they are and how they learn, to better cater lessons to their needs.
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
By challenging and encouraging them to realize and maximize to their fullest potential.
How would you help a student stay motivated?
Lots of positive reinforcement and enabling them to practice the subjects in which they have the most difficulty, in order to build their confidence.
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
Focus on the areas where they are the most comfortable and expand upon that.
How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?
By breaking down the material into its smallest parts, analyzing those parts independently of one another, and putting it all together, in order to examine it all as a whole.
What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?
Visual aids tend to be very helpful, such as flashcards, as well as allowing them to actually work on their subjects independently, so they have more hands-on practice, rather than just sitting and watching.
How would you help a student get excited/engaged with a subject that they are struggling in?
By establishing a rewards system (points, stickers, etc.), dependent upon their age group, for every time they succeed at answering certain types of questions, or after having improved upon a previously weak skill set.
What techniques would you use to be sure that a student understands the material?
It would depend upon the student's learning style and age group, but some options would include the use of visual aids, the use of open-ended questions after the learning of a particular concept, a rewards system, etc.
How do you build a student's confidence in a subject?
Constant encouragement and allowing them to ask a variety of questions at all times, so they become that much more active in the learning process.
How do you evaluate a student's needs?
By creating a general profile based on general personal questions in order to get a better sense of who they are, what they like, and the way in which they learn, as well as the speed at which such learning is likely to occur.
How do you adapt your tutoring to the student's needs?
Personalized lesson plans that are likely to increase the speed at which they learn, as well as how they process and retain the information. This way, the student will be more likely to enjoy their tutoring experience and gradually become more engaged in their educational needs.
What types of materials do you typically use during a tutoring session?
It varies, but examples may include flashcards, YouTube videos, practice tests (oral and written, depending on the subject matter), charts, graphs, helpful web links, and many more. This is all based upon the age, learning speed, learning style, and subject matter of a particular session.