When teaching and tutoring students, I focus on conversation, allowing the students the opportunity to truly understand the material and internalize it through a back and forth. While I expect my students to be prepared, I do not expect them to learn on their own. The purpose of tutoring is to come to an understanding of the material together.

I would ask the student what his/her goals for tutoring are. I would also do an assessment to determine what the student knows and does not know, in order to better focus the tutoring.

I teach students not only the material but how to better think about the material. By changing how the student thinks about the material, s/he will be better able to learn on his/her own.

I assess student's goals at the beginning of tutoring to determine why s/he wants to improve in a particular topic. I then focus the tutoring to align with their goals.

I present material to students in multiple different ways, so if a student has difficulty learning the material in one way, s/he can learn in another way.

I teach students at their own pace. If a student is struggling with reading comprehension, I slow down to match the student's pace.

When I first meet with students, I find it best to determine their goals and their current level of understanding in a given subject. With their goals and current understanding level, we can together create a learning plan that works best for them.

To get a student excited in a subject with which they are struggling, I would encourage them to think about how the subject impacts them directly. When students consider the real-world implications of achieving in a particular subject, their internal motivation to do well improves.

The best way to ensure that a student understands the material is to have them attempt to teach me the material as if I were the student. This not only causes the student to engage in deeper memory processes, it also causes them to internalize the material better.

A student's confidence in a subject increases when they succeed with difficult, but not too difficult, assessments. If the material is too easy, the student will not learn anything. If the material is too difficult, the student will become unmotivated. Students must be challenged, but have help along the way.

Student needs are evaluated in two ways. First is through practice questions and exams. This method gets a quantitative assessment of the student's understanding and ability in the subject. Second is through conversation about the topic. This method gets a qualitative assessment by determining how well the student can talk about and discuss the topic.

I use multiple methods of tutoring to fit different needs of students. However, the most effective method of adapting to students' needs is through conversation. By have a back and forth dialogue, we can determine the student's current level of understanding and provide answers that match.

Depending upon the topic, I have students study using workbooks, essays, and conversations. Occasionally, I will use online materials such as videos and interactive activities.