My teaching philosophy is that everyone learns differently. What may work for one person may not for the next, and I think it is important to find a way of learning that works best for you.

In a first session with a student, my main goal would be to get to know them and their goals, and try and understand their way of learning. I would try and keep it as relaxed and stress-free as possible, because being in new situations is hard enough without putting too many expectations on someone.

I think giving the students the right tools to build upon when learning is key to helping them become an independent learner. I do not want to just help students complete assignments or pass just one certain section of the class, but, instead, I would like to help them understand why a certain answer or process is correct. That way, they can utilize that in the future when they are on their own.

Each student is motivated in a different way, so, first, I would try and discover what motivates that individual.

If a student has difficulty with a skill or concept, I think the best way to help is to break it down even further. The best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time, and if a concept is too complex, I would try and break it down to its simplest form, and then try and build the understanding from there.