Effective teachers know the educational needs of their students, and this is my central approach. If people are not taught the same way as they learn, they may not understand things that would make perfect sense if approached in a different way. Concepts may “click” much more quickly if vivid illustrations, real-life examples, clever scenarios, or alternative interpretations of instructions are used as teaching tools.
In an individual or small-group setting, I work to specifically accommodate each student’s needs. In larger groups, I take a multimodal approach, explaining the same idea in several ways, allowing for the student’s creativity in choosing and adapting whichever strategy makes the most sense. This fosters student engagement with the topic and helps the student own her/his learning through the process of personal discovery.
Some students thrive on an open-ended curriculum; others are more motivated if their curriculum is broken down precisely, step-by-step. My goal, and my strength, is to determine how my student learns best so that learning comes most easily and lasts a lifetime.