Teaching is a two-way street: teachers teach students, and students teach teachers.

I would like to get to know the student and his/her family if possible. I would like to understand his/her strengths and weaknesses, what is motivating to the student, and what the student wants to get out of tutoring.

I try to motivate students to come up with answers themselves by using their own resources. If I give students the tools to succeed, I try to let them use those tools to learn independently.

It depends on the student and his/her needs- However, I have utilized strategies such as: schedules of reinforcement, goal writing, graphing (grades and accomplishments), and personal self-talk.

I would explore the way the child learns best. Often times, a student has difficulty learning a skill because it was not taught in the way that he/she learns best. We would collaborate to find the best strategy for that student so he/she can succeed.

Reading comprehension can be a very challenging task for some students. There are a variety of strategies that could be explored during tutoring: using a visual, imagery, the rate method, and using tracking devices during reading. I did a research project in graduate school exploring the "reading for a purpose" method, which was found to be successful for my client at the time.

I have found that it is best to be positive and encouraging when working with a student. I like to bring little treats (pencils, candy, etc.) to tutoring (after getting parent permission) so that a student associates tutoring with a positive time. I also have found that getting to know students’ hobbies and interests can greatly improve their motivation during tutoring.

I would try to relate the subject to something the student enjoys. For example, if the student is struggling with addition, but enjoys playing soccer, we could try adding up soccer ball stickers.

I like the "teach back" method. In this method, the student teaches the material he/she learned back to someone else (the tutor, parents, a sibling, a teacher, etc.). This ensures that the student understands the material.

I like to build a student's confidence by showing them their progress- this is usually done by graphing or looking back at past work to show where they were when they started, compared to the present.

A student's needs come from a variety of sources: student and parent concern, his/her teacher, analyzing performance in academic subjects, and focusing in on the most important tasks first to ensure improvement.

I adapt tutoring to the student's needs by making tutoring a very personalized experience. There is no "one-size-fits-all" approach to tutoring, as each child is unique and different, and has different needs.

I usually use paper, pencil, pen, stickers, markers (if necessary), graph (if necessary), and, of course, the student! Additional materials can always be explored based on the student's needs.