What is your teaching philosophy?

Targeting, reading skill improvement, sustaining if necessary, and trying not to freak out.

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

I'd ask the student where he/she is in the subject, and focus him on his homework requirement first, along with theory and theorems, with strong reinforcement.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

I'd simply tell him/her it is realistically nerve-wracking to feel possibly lost in the course, though it may not be true. Hence, being proactive in the areas they do not feel quite secure yet is crucial, and it should be targeted first.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

Physical drawings on a piece of paper to explain a scientific problem is always very effective, even in molecule level. Pairing theorems with particular examples is always crucial to make one understand.

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

I always tell one to start relatively slow and pay particular attention to words he/she may not be quite familiar with. Once getting used to them, speed the reading up with a report, like on a paragraph, to practice reading comprehension skill.