What is your teaching philosophy?

Context, context, context: Learning without context is almost pointless. Without context, we don't retain information, can't apply the information we do manage to retain, and forget what we learned as soon as the test is over. By learning within context we make connections with what we already know, retain information right away, and are able to turn around and apply what we learned to new situations. I always want my students to know why they are learning and how it is useful, because otherwise the lesson is pointless.

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

Find the trouble spots and get to work!

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

Point out resources and new problem-solving techniques. Talk about classic problems when we encounter them. Teach how to think holistically about problems and walk students through derivations so they know where the answer came from and can tweak the process to derive their own answers in the future.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

I always like to point problems back to real-world scenarios. It's hard to be un-motivated when you know that what you are learning is going to be immediately useful!

If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?

Break it down into manageable parts, practice those parts, and then string them together. I also like to turn problems and concepts on their heads or look at them from different directions to facilitate creative thinking in the future.