I believe that teachers and tutors are there to guide students to a better understanding of the topic. I like to ask my students a lot of questions to encourage an active learning experience.

I would start with a general assessment of what the students know. I would then try to get a feel for the student as a person as well as understand his/her learning style. Finally, I would ask the student what he/she hopes to get out of the tutoring. This can include more practice problems, another presentation of difficult material, help with studying, etc.

I like to start a difficult concept by introducing it in a textual sense, followed by leading the student through practice problems. Later on, I like to have the student work more independently as he/she becomes more comfortable with the material.

I like to have the student actively participate in the tutoring because that lets me know that the student is actually thinking and processing the information. I like to be in tune with the student's individual needs, trying to create custom lesson plans catered to each student so the student learns in a way that is comfortable to him/her.

I've noticed that students that have a significant issue with a concept usually have an issue in understanding an earlier concept. In these cases, I will try to assess why the student is having a difficult time learning, and I'll work with him/her to figure out exactly how he/she can gain more familiarity.

As someone who does not like reading large blocks of text, I like to take a break after each paragraph to better digest what was just said. When teaching students, I try to guide them through the concept in the same way: stopping every so often to digest the concept and find out how it fits into the bigger picture.

I find that turning a learning experience into a two-way conversation by asking questions is useful in understanding the student's level of knowledge, as well as his/her methodologies for problem solving.

I try to get the student excited and engaged in a subject by making the tutoring sessions upbeat and fun. I try to come off as approachable and positive so the student feels more comfortable in the tutoring environment. I also like to provide words of encouragement to help the student feel like the tutoring session is time well spent.

I like to ask many conceptual questions during sessions to make sure the student knows the material. Later on, I like to create problems off the top of my head to help the students put together the concepts.

I like to offer words of encouragement when a student learns even a small concept, or remembers an earlier concept, because I believe knowledge is cumulative. I believe that even if we do not advance in the material and only spend tutoring sessions reviewing it, it is still time well spent because the student will be better prepared for next time.

I like to ask a lot of questions during my initial presentation of new material to make sure that the student has a good foundation with which to build new knowledge. If he/she does not know something, I will dig deeper until I can find the root of the issue and work to fix that before moving on further.

I like to start each tutoring session asking what the students would like to do during the session. Periodically through the session, I will ask if they are comfortable or if we should change to another method of learning.

I love using whiteboards and dry-erase markers because I can show, rather than tell students how to approach a concept, how to view a problem, and how to solve a problem. Textbooks are often good because they provide a decent amount of practice problems I can use to illustrate a particular concept.