I get to know them as a person: what are their likes, dislikes, strengths and weaknesses in and out of the classroom? If I can help find the skills they are great at, I can incorporate that into our tutoring. I usually play a game with them in the subject they are struggling with to get an idea of where they are when we begin. We take it from there; whatever direction is best for the student.

Helping them be comfortable with their subject. I usually do this by really helping them solve problems logically and step by step. If they can explain the steps back to me, I know they understand it. I constantly praise them for their effort and great work. I think that sets a sense of pride for the student and makes them confident enough to try things on their own.

There are a variety of ways to motivate students. Praise is the most important avenue to make that happen. Being excited oneself about the subject matter and working to connect the content to the students' lives is essential. Expecting excellence from the beginning helps the students know their expectations and set challenging but attainable goals and assignments. Giving a sense of ownership to the students, getting to know their interests, and incorporating them into tasks and assignments gives them a bit of control in their learning. Encouraging student choice in how to achieve a particular assignment or learning outcome also serves to motivate students. I believe that some control by the students helps make them interested in their learning because it allows it to be personal.

My teaching style is very easy going. I want to make a personal connection with my students and understand what they like and how they think. I try to teach concepts and connect them to the real world, which is the point of education, in my opinion--to understand and make sense of our surroundings. I think my job as a teacher is to make education fun and relevant instead of just something you have to memorize for a test and never remember again. Education is meant to impact lives and change them for the better, to turn them around and improve our communities and the world.

Explain it in another manner. If the way I'm explaining it is not getting through, I use excellent resources such as learning tool websites. I think it's excellent to have multiple explanations available to find the one that works best. I'm also huge into videos. I love finding great videos and digital activities for my students to do. We are all very digital these days. I think it helps capture the attention more and creates a more interactive experience.

Find an interesting read on something they are really interested in or a topic that you know is incredibly funny, dramatic, or just quirky. Passages that really capture students' interests make learning critical reading skills much easier and much more fun!

Get to know them as a person first. It might seem odd because we have actual content to cover, but if there is no connection between tutor and student, it makes it difficult to be successful during our time together.