Generally, in a first session, I try to familiarize myself with the student's course load and syllabus. I identify the areas where they feel they need the most help and develop a lesson plan for how we can most effectively reach their learning goals.

The main benefit of tutoring is that it helps a student learn new ways of solving problems for themselves. An effective tutor will help target the student's critical thinking skills and help them come up with new learning strategies. Tutoring sessions by themselves aren't often long enough to cover all of the necessary topics, but they enable the student to learn on their own.

I've found that many students lose motivation when they find their work to either be too challenging or not challenging enough. Lecture-style instruction is often a poor motivational tool because it is difficult for a student to find success when they aren't actively practicing their skills. It is important that the student is as involved as possible in the learning process, as interactive learning is both motivating and effective.

I try my best to identify the reasons that a student is struggling with a certain concept. Generally, students can begin to grasp tougher subjects if you are able to relate them back to skills that they have already mastered, or give them examples of practical applications.

Students with the strongest reading comprehension skills are generally the same ones who choose to read for fun in their free time. Reading comprehension is built through volume by increasing the library of examples that a student can draw from. If a student is reading a passage and they are having difficulty understanding its meaning, it is best to help them by giving them other examples that drive similar points.