How would you help a student stay motivated?

I like to ask them conceptual questions about the topic at hand to make them realize that most of the time they actually understand the material, but are just over complicating the process.

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

I like to ask them a simple question pertaining to the topic, then I add more steps to the question until it is very similar to the question they were having problems with.

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

I tell them to treat reading as a conversation. I found that most of the time students get stressed about reading, but I tell them it is simply someone's way of talking to them. This helps my students relax a bit, which in turn helps them soak up more information.

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

There are many different approaches I use, but the one I found most effective is when I treat my students as friends and help them on a more personal level. In this manner they are not so afraid to ask questions and joke around a bit.