I believe every student can succeed, given the right tools and motivation. My job is to figure out how to communicate in a way that works for different learning styles because we all really do learn differently!

I would get to know the student and establish a connection before diving right into the subject. Then, I would ask them about their goals for the session and create a tentative schedule of work based off of their needs.

I can suggest resources (books, websites, games, etc.) that the student can use during their time outside of tutoring sessions, as well as help establish good study skills and test prep habits.

I would pay attention to the student's needs and know when to take a break if the student is getting burned out. I'm a firm believer in positive reinforcement, so I would start with work the student feels more confident about before moving onto more complicated subjects.

I would ask the student to re-explain the concept in their own words so I could hear how they interpret the information. I would then try to break the concept down into smaller, more digestible pieces so that the student doesn't feel overwhelmed.

I would have the student read the piece once through. Then, I would ask them to read the questions related to the piece so they can be watchful for the information they need to know, and go back and re-read the article.

Connecting on a personal level is very important to establishing a successful tutoring relationship. My job is to make tutoring as fun as it can be, so that the subject isn't as much of a struggle.

Depending on the subject and the student's age / ability level, I would employ games or visual aids to help them learn the material in a different, more exciting way. I would also be sure to emphasize the real-world applications of the material.

I would throw out a few practice questions at the end of the session and ask the student to explain the concepts we had covered as if they were trying to teach it to someone else.

I start small: I break a concept into smaller, fundamental pieces and ask questions at every step of the way so that a student masters the "building blocks" of a subject before putting them all together.

I ask a student what they think their biggest struggles are in a subject. If they're not sure, or they say "everything," then I might ask to look at past homework assignments or tests to see where they are having the most difficulty.

If a student is a more visual learner, I will draw pictures to explain a concept. If they prefer games, I will find a game related to the subject. If they like to do lots of practice questions, I will prepare a list of questions for them to complete during the session.

For math tutoring, I generally use a piece of paper and pencil. Sometimes a calculator is involved, or a whiteboard, or games/manipulatives (depending on the subject). For test preparation, I bring practice questions.