I stress listening to the student so that I always understand what they're asking me and what they need help with. I also make sure to stop frequently to ask if the student has any questions, and I keep them engaged in every step of solving a problem.

Typically, I try to get a feel for what kinds of problems the student is having in the particular subject they need help with, and what they feel most comfortable with. That way, I can be sure to give them help where they most need it, and possibly even refer to things they understand well to help explain what they don't.

I tell my students to focus on what they know and what they are looking for. Once they've identified those, I ask them how they can use what they know to solve for what they don't know. This way, I am directing their focus, not directing them to the answer.

I find that students stay motivated when they can work with things they know how to do. So I try to integrate what they feel comfortable with and what they don't so that they can approach the problem with some sense of familiarity, instead of looking at the problem and being utterly confused and discouraged. Mainly, I remind them that they know more than they think they know by getting them to first latch on to what they can work within the problem, and use that as a stepping-stone towards the next step. The biggest agent of discouragement to me is the feeling that what you've learned so far cannot help you with what's right in front of you now.

I try to explain it in different ways, appealing to different learning styles. The explanation I'm giving at first may sound great to my own ears, but my default teaching style may not be appropriate for a student's learning style. Also, I break the concept down as much as I need to for the student to be able to process the idea as a whole.

Discussion is key with reading comprehension. What I focus on when I'm talking to a student about something that's just been read is asking them questions about why something happened, or what kind of personality a character has...and when they answer me, I have them point to the clues in the words on the page that allow one to make statements about the author's tone, characterization, etc.

The beginning of my tutoring relationships with students are often very quiet from my end because that's when I like to be most attentive to what their needs are. As I discover what they're confused with and where they need help, I start talking more because at that point, I am able to tailor my suggestions to their situation.

Normally students feel most comfortable with concepts they've mastered, so I would try to relate the material they find challenging to things they already know.

I'd ask questions relating to the concept covered that present different scenarios than what they've been exposed to.

With students that are finding a particular concept hard to understand, I like to present progressively more difficult questions so that they are challenged with each but not so intimidated that they just get discouraged. Before they know it, they're tackling problems they might have been intimidated by at first.

Evaluating a student's needs involves paying close attention to what teaching methods resound with them the most. Usually I try getting a student to understand concepts in different ways until I see that they finally got it, and I make a mental note of what method worked best for them.

I adapt my tutoring to the student's needs by paying attention to what teaching methods work best for them and applying those.

Usually the students have class assignments or practice from their school textbooks, but I always bring paper, writing utensils, and a calculator in case I need to provide an in-depth explanation for a concept.