What is your teaching philosophy?

Anybody can understand math as long as it is explained correctly according to each student. Everyone learns differently, so I try to think of as many ways to explain concepts as I can, until the student understands at least one of them.

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

I like to use the first 10-15 minutes just to get to know the student. I find some common interests, make a few jokes to lighten the mood, and try and figure out the reason for the trouble they are having. This helps me use student-specific analogies as I'm explaining concepts, and helps form a student-teacher bond early in the relationship.

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

I don't give up. I will constantly try new techniques and be thinking of different ways to explain a certain concept. Math can be done in so many ways that there is always bound to be at least one way that clicks with someone.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

Telling a student how to do a problem is honestly a cop-out. A tutor needs to make the student actually understand the logic behind the problem, which I promise there is in all of math (that's what math is after all: logic! Albeit some is pretty tough to wrap your head around), and once the logic is explained, it becomes much easier to figure out other problems while the tutor is not around.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

By showing them how AWESOME math is!!

How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?

One of the first and most important things is to have them read out loud. Simple things like stumbling on a word or having an awkward inflection in a sentence can tell the tutor where the reader is actually comprehending the material, and where the struggles lie.

What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?

I like to spend the first 10 minutes getting to know the student, as it makes it easier for me to come up with examples and analogies that will actually resonate with the student, making them more likely for the student to remember. Also, I realize that everybody learns differently, so when one method of describing the logic behind mathematics doesn't work, I use multiple different methods of explanation in order to find one that clicks for each specific student.

What techniques would you use to be sure that a student understands the material?

I love making up problems that have little tricks in them in order to see if the student really, truly understands the concept. And sometimes throwing a really simple problem into a mix of tough ones really helps show which ones know the material.

How do you build a student's confidence in a subject?

In math it's all about practice. Practice. Practice. I like to help closely for the first few, then back off bit by bit until they can do the problems by themselves. The only way to have confidence in math is to show yourself that you can do it.

How do you adapt your tutoring to the student's needs?

Everybody learns differently, as I've seen from working with such a wide age range, as well as working with special needs students, and the most important thing is being creative. Anybody can tell somebody the answer to a problem, but it takes a creative person to be able to explain the logic to different types of minds/learners/people.

What types of materials do you typically use during a tutoring session?

I have a tablet which allows me to write by hand on my screen, which the student can see in real time (as I write/draw/etc.). This is very useful when tutoring mathematics, as relationships can be shown with arrows, graphs can be drawn, and it is easy for the student to follow me as I cover concepts.