What is your teaching philosophy?

I like to teach the student how to approach a problem. What questions do they ask themselves before they even start getting into the nitty-gritty details of a question? "What is given to me?" "What do I need to find?" "What tools do I know that would help to solve this?" Once they're comfortable dissecting a problem it becomes much easier to apply the theory they're learning.

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

I would inquire about and assess their strengths and weaknesses. I'd also ask them where they think they could improve and what's getting in the way of reaching that goal. Once you identify the problem(s) we can begin to correct them one at a time.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

Allow them to think through a problem out loud. If they get stuck I try to nudge them in the correct direction with a context clue or by wording something another way. When they figure something out on their own it gives them more confidence to attack other problems in a similar way.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

I would point to real world applications and the success of motivated individuals. Things are taught for a reason, whether or not they seem important. Successful learning should naturally create motivation because there's an inherent pride that comes from figuring something out.