I believe learning can only occur when students understand the fundamental concepts behind what they're learning and can appreciate why what they're learning about is important. This is why I do my utmost to place concepts in context. I tell the history of mathematical discoveries and why they revolutionized the world, I connect business concepts to current events to show their relevance, and I extrapolate from basic concepts in all subjects to show how what we're learning about now can lead to incredibly powerful tools that have helped shaped the world we live in.

I like to get to know the student in my first session with them. I learn about their interests outside of academics, I learn about what they like about the subject in question, and I typically like to go over some work they've previously done. All of this gives me a better idea of how the student learns, how to motivate them, and where their strengths and weaknesses might lie.

I believe learning can only occur when a subject is connected to the world at large. Accounting might be unbearably dry until you start a small business and all of the sudden need to balance a budget. Calculus as a standalone subject was dreadful to me until I learned the history of it, and that its advent was a fundamental shift in the way we viewed the world of mathematics. For this reason, connecting the subject in question to the world in a way that interests the student is the best way for them to want to learn more independently.