If a student finds an interest, he or she will independently study a subject or construct a solution to an existing problem, but it takes a thorough understanding of the underlying subject and potential applications before that can occur.

I tutor in math-related subjects, so it's important that I relay the applications in business management, finance, or science so that students understand the long-term value of the skills they're developing.

The most important objective of a first session is getting to know the student and identifying where he or she stands on day 1 with diagnostic practice tests. This allows for deliberate goal setting, benchmark creation, and accountability for both the tutor and student.

All independent study is unique. If you are an expert and someone else is not, you have value in your enhanced knowledge. This is how jobs are created and companies are started--taking a simple interest that envelopes one independent learner, and identifying enough people that would benefit from this knowledge, service, or product.

I started modeling political polling data and sports stats as a way to learn spreadsheet functions. I don't make a lot of money off of it, but I could if I keep improving it.

A college football coach mentioned to me that every lecture I skipped or slept through equaled $200 in wasted tuition. I stopped missing class for any reason whatsoever.

A student is allowed to be frustrated or confused. He or she isn't allowed to be foolish. Wasting the opportunity to be helped by an expert tutor is foolish, because so many peers would trade places for this advantage.

It's important to present a skill or concept using all the cognitive abilities. If a concept doesn't click logically, I'll present it verbally, visually, or with Interest-based applications, until we're viewing the problem from the clearest perspective of the student.

Most passages can be graphically represented, either as a plot's conflict rises and falls or as a theory is presented and defended. If a student can identify whether the intent of the author is to describe or to entertain or to prove something, he or she can look for the important information in each paragraph.

If I can be both respected as an instructor and relatable as a person, the student inherently cares more about the learning taking place with my help. There needs to be an immediate small gain so that the process is reinforced, and the goals set on day one seem much more attainable for the student.

I would pause the lesson for a moment and assign a project looking up a person or two of my choosing, e.g. Pythagoras, Gregor Mendel, Isaac Newton. Polymaths have theorized (and stumbled upon) so many incredible advancements, and it's important for students to understand that even if a subject isn't their forte, it could have some strange application to their favorite subject later.

After a student works through a problem toward a correct answer, I'll tweak the values or pick another item from a set and ask them to repeat the solution. If they can foresee new methods that apply to solving the problem or new parameters that no longer exist, they've mastered it.

Students need to see that they're consistently improving, so the bar needs to be set where it's both a challenge and attainable.