Learning is the result of struggling through a challenge, while teaching is the process of framing that challenge, mentoring students through their struggle and helping them evaluate their results. It is this evaluation that is most important to the learning process. As a mathematics educator, it is my duty to arrange conditions and experiences to bring about learning. It is my responsibility to bring the subject of mathematics to life. I strive to communicate my enthusiasm and passion for my chosen discipline.

My first task is to make the student feel at ease. During the first session, I will spend a little time to get to know the student, but I will do so without wasting their time. It is important that I establish a rapport with the student. It will make the learning more enjoyable.

One approach I use in helping a student become an independent learner is to give formative feedback. This helps the student by providing them a clear sense of what their strengths and weaknesses are and allows them to take control of their learning. Another technique I use is to arrange conditions such that the student has to make choices. By providing choices, they must make decisions; thus, they become more independent.

The best way I have found to help a student stay motivated is to take a genuine interest in their work. I will provide positive feedback as well as constructive criticism. I try to keep the student focused on the objectives, "Why are we computing the ...?" I will also help a student identify their own personal reasons for wanting to learn and better understand the subject material; they may be interested in the material, want better grades, want to go to college, or just love to learn.

In helping students who are struggling with reading comprehension, I get the student to read the problem and then explain the problem to me in their own words. I get them to dissect the problem into: what are we trying to find, what do we know, and what do we need.

The strategy I have found to be most successful when starting to work with a student is to ask them what they are having difficulty with. This has proven successful in quickly assessing what help they truly need. Another strategy I will use is to have a student work through a problem and ask them to explain why they are taking the steps they take. This is also a time-saving technique to identify any underlying conceptual challenges.

I help students get excited/engaged with a subject they are struggling in by making the material as relevant to them as possible. I will try to develop real-world applications of the subject matter to bring the subject to life. The more relative the subject becomes, the more excited/engaged the student becomes.

Some techniques I use to assess student understanding of the material are: presenting open-ended questions for the student to discuss, have the student explain in their own words the underlying steps/concepts, present a problem more conceptually challenging and have the student discuss the solution, have a student design a problem (or set of problems) to assess the concepts.

The primary way I build a student's confidence in mathematics is to develop their perseverance, problem-solving skills, positive risk taking, and their willingness to complete a task. This is accomplished by acknowledging their positive contributions to solving a problem and encouraging them to learn from their mistakes. Discovering why we failed is as important as knowing why we succeeded.

I evaluate a student's needs by determining what they know. I will ask them where they are having trouble and demonstrate the difficulty by trying to work a problem.

I adapt my tutoring to the student's needs once I understand the root cause of their difficulty. I will also try to determine the student's learning and communication style. If a student is conceptually challenged, I will tailor my tutoring to focus on conceptual understanding. If a student's needs are more mechanical, I will have them practice through repetition. In any case, I will develop a personalized program for the student.

The types of materials I typically use during tutoring sessions are dependent on the subject and the student's needs. I will use visual aids, computer algebra systems, graphing calculators, etc.