Mark Freedman Freedman

I work hard to understand who my students are and help them to define clear goals and then identify the resources and practices that will best help them to achieve these goals. My pedagogy is based on the "coach" model where the emphasis is on the student practicing the desired skills and with me, reflecting upon their progress and instructional needs. My instruction focuses on helping students achieve a high level of metacognition or the ability to reflect upon their own learning and the path toward greater mastery. As I often tell my students, "you are my brand" meaning I stake my professional reputation upon their success. Once we have established clear learning goals, our typical tutoring sessions involve students doing exercises directly related to their learning goals and then discussions afterwards. Because students are often anxious when seeking instruction, I strive to be friendly and supportive, often using humor to put students at their ease. However, my most important asset as an educator is my sense of commitment to my students. Without this, I have no right to teach them. Finally, I do this because I love it and it brings me great joy working with students and seeing their progress.