I have been a teacher for the past 6 years--both regular education (elementary) and special education (preschool & elementary). I received my BA in Special Education from Gonzaga University, as well as my elementary teaching certifications. I studied Teaching as Applied Behavior Analysis at the Teachers College, where I received my MA and PhD, while teaching full time.
I learned to make moment by moment decisions regarding my students and their progress (academically, behaviorally, and socially) by being very observant about how they were progressing when I used certain strategies to teach them. In turn, this has allowed me to have a great deal of success with any child I work with. Since every child is unique and learns in a different way, being able to identify what strategies are working and which ones are not is key.
On a separate note, oftentimes I find children who struggle academically also have behavioral and motivational issues due to their difficulty in learning. For this reason, I incorporate motivational tactics into any tutoring I do as a preventative measure to ensure my students are motivated and attentive during sessions.
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