What is your teaching philosophy?

Listen first. Understand a student's perspective, background and learning style. Then engage on their level. If something doesn't work, try something new. I firmly believe that the 'aha' moment when a student finally grasps a difficult concept is one of the most rewarding experiences as a student or a teacher, and that it is inherently motivating to both student and teacher.

What might you do in a typical first session with a student?

Get to know each other, and find out if we have any similar interests. Figure out what materials we will use and in what ways I can be the most helpful as a tutor (whether that means I'm there to walk through practice tests and explain questions the student has trouble with or if we want to work through a study guide and the student takes the tests on their own, or any combination of the two).