I focus on helping students build a network of ideas so that they can remember and use them. I also guide them through the kinds of problem-solving strategies that experts use. My approach is to meet students where they are and work with them step by step until they master a topic, using positive feedback and encouraging self-reflection along the way.

My first goal is to find out what a student can already do, where they're getting stuck, and what approach they're taking to the subject they're studying. It's important for me to have tutoring sessions that focus on the student, but that's especially important during a first session. I want to know who my student is and where they want to go! I'm not a useful guide until I know that.

Helping students develop their learning skills is very important to me. I encourage students to reflect on their own learning, try out new approaches, and evaluate the success of their approaches. I also try to identify students' strengths, and encourage them to build on those. That builds confidence. Confidence and the habit of evaluating whether you're succeeding are important building blocks for independent learning.

Goals that are small and achievable-- but still meaningful for a student! -- are the key to motivation. I try to find the speed and the level of difficulty at which a student is making progress, but isn't overwhelmed. I also try to help students see how the work they're doing is helping them toward something they care about.

First, I'd figure out exactly where the student is having difficulty. If they're stuck on a concept, explaining it in a different way, or having them walk through an example, often helps. Often, it's useful to break a complex challenge down into smaller pieces; once they're solid on the pieces, they can ramp up to tackling that challenge as a whole.

Often, problems with comprehension come when a student is trying to take in too much at once. Encouraging them to slow down and understand each sentence before moving on can help. For technical scientific literature, there's a real art to extracting the important information and ignoring the rest. That's something I teach to my upper-level students.

An absolute must for me is getting the student doing the skill they want to get better at. I can suggest ways to make the work efficient, but it's the student's active work that makes learning happen. So, active learning is my #1 strategy.

It's important for a student to find a reason to care about what they're doing. I try to help students connect with the goal that their work is moving them toward. It's also important to show students that they really can succeed in that subject. No matter how helpless a student feels he or she is, there are always pieces of the puzzle that they're already doing right. I point those out, and when I've coached them through mastering another little piece, I point out the progress they're making. Focusing a student's attention on small, immediate goals often helps keep them from being overwhelmed.

I ask students to explain concepts to me in their own words, and to explain how those concepts can be applied to specific questions or problems. If a student can put an idea into their own words, it's a sure sign of understanding.

Start small. Find the things they're already succeeding at. Get them to focus on each step, so they aren't overwhelmed by the feeling of everything they don't know. With quantitative subjects, I guide students to understand the key concepts on a non-quantitative level. Then the mathematical equations make sense, and they aren't as intimidating anymore.

The first place I start is by listening. Students are often good guides to what they do and don't need. I've got a lot of experience, so I know where many of the common "roadblocks" come up for students. I'll often ask questions designed to determine whether or not they're stuck in one of these places.

Everything in tutoring should be adapted to a student's needs. I'm always gauging how well my approach is working, and changing it if it's not being effective. This means being open to dialogue: asking the student what would be most helpful, and checking to make sure that explanations or guidance are working.

That depends very much on the needs of the student. I rely a lot on visual explanations, but one student might need to be coached through a set of practice problems, while another might want to see me work an example or have a concept explained in a different way than what's in his or her textbook. I try to be flexible.