In and outside of tutoring, I focus on kindness and patience. I believe that any student, when treated with respect and allowed to learn at his or her own pace, can learn and feel confident in any subject.

In my first session with a student, I would focus on pinpointing where exactly problems exist, whether that is in the actual material, in study skills, in testing techniques, or in workload.

I can help a student become an independent learner by focusing on providing them with useful, repeatable, and simple problem-solving and studying skills rather than simply answers.

I'll help my students stay motivated by setting and holding them accountable to specific goals to meet between sessions, and by checking their understanding frequently throughout each session.

First, I would go through each step or piece of the concept to pinpoint where the confusion comes from. If the student cannot understand the concept as I've presented it, I'll find an alternative example or technique for explaining it.

I believe note-taking skills are an essential part of mastering reading comprehension. I help students develop a shorthand annotation style that works for them and can help them organize their thoughts in the context of a standardized test or a larger writing assignment.

When I first start working with a student, I've found it very helpful to have them try a challenging problem or two on their own before offering my help. This allows me to gauge their skill level and learning style, and it puts us on the same page about what they need to learn.

I think it is important to celebrate a student's success when he or she completes a frustrating assignment or problem and then try to replicate that success many times to inspire confidence and, hopefully, enthusiasm.

After going over a problem step by step and in detail, I usually ask the student to both repeat the steps back to me and try a similar problem on his or her own.

Once I've finished developing a certain skill with a student, I have the student spend some time applying that skill to many different problems or assignments. Practicing repeatable success helps build confidence in students.

When I first meet with a student, I often ask them to try a few problems on their own in addition to discussing their weaknesses with them. This not only helps me gauge their learning needs but also their learning style and their overall confidence in the subject area.

Depending on a student's speed of comprehension, confidence level, and attention span, I adjust how often and how intensely I check for understanding and how many times I review the steps for each problem.

I typically use a shared notebook for jotting down work, a notebook or laptop for the student to take notes on the lesson, and my own laptop in case I need to look anything up quickly.