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

I would ask a lot of questions and find out what the student likes and how they like to learn so I can figure out how to best plan to help the student learn in future lessons.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

I like to find things that the student is interested in and relate them to the lesson to help them stay interested and motivated. If you can get them to relate what they are learning to something they already find interesting, it is easier for them to retain the information and want to continue learning.

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

Try presenting the information in a different way. There are many different learning styles, so if one way doesn't work, try something else. Movies, essays, videos, speech, models, etc.

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

Listening is the best strategy. Listening to what they know, what they need to know, their triumphs and struggles, and their likes and dislikes. It all helps me figure out how to proceed to create plans to help them.

How would you help a student get excited/engaged with a subject that they are struggling in?

Relate the subject they are struggling into real-life situations and ideas that can help them understand the material better.

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

Start the out slow; when they have successes, they want to continue to have success. When they are met with failure or multiple failures early on in the learning process, they shut down. Start slow and celebrate all the little victories.

How do you evaluate a student's needs?

Listen and ask questions, either verbally or in writing, before we start a new content or subject, and then do a summative assessment at the end to evaluate learning.