My philosophy is to listen to students. Have students verbalize the steps to improve their retention. Practice learning skills, study skills, and testing skills. Have fun.

In the first session, I would review the background of the student, their interests and motivations, their mental arithmetic, study skills and test-taking skills.

I always encourage independent learning so student has life time skills. I ask the student to verbalize the steps and answers aloud, since it will increase their retention. I also encourage the use of the textbook to compare to teacher notes. We will do stretch questions and have the student draw a picture for word problems to organize their thoughts.

I would select problems that link to their interests. I would provide real life questions to show the utility of the topic. I would ask the student to find a use for math in their lives.

Since reading comprehension is very critical to word problems and many advanced math topics, students should underline key points, circle the answer, list the known starting facts and again draw a picture. Besides reading, students need to write answers and use units appropriately.

Starting strategies are: 1) to discuss recent tests with the student, 2) list any distractions in the classroom, 3) look at overall school grades, 4) define future goals, and 5) raise their confidence.

Since many students struggle with the abstraction of math, I would rephrase questions into terms they recognize, find problems of interest, use hands-on techniques and ask them to find a "study buddy".

Besides sample questions and problems, I would do the review sections at the end of the unit. Also, be sure they have written a summary review and highlighted questions the teacher has emphasized.

Building confidence includes the reinforcement of their success with answers and their retention of concepts. Improving test scores should also improve their confidence.

I listen to the student's reaction to their math course, their corrections to answers, their style of learning and their goals.

Every student learns at a different pace, so I need to adapt accordingly. I may also use topics, scenes or explanations from the internet, since most students are surfers.

Teaching materials start with the student's textbook, class notes, classwork and homework. I would bring supplementary materials as needed.

If a student does not grasp a concept, I would rephrase it and realign it from a different direction. I would also be sure the student can see the individual parts of the concept. Also, I require checking all answers to do the question a second time.