Psychology of learning
I believe that students are most successful when they feel valued as individuals, supported, and motivated to learn. As a teacher/tutor, it is my responsibility to establish and maintain a learning environment with these things in mind.

Individual value
Each student is equally and completely valued and respected, regardless of ability or achievement in the classroom. Mistakes are treated as an inevitable part of the learning process. Corrections are made in a non-threatening manner, and without condescension. Rules are established early and enforced without exception to ensure a sense of fairness to all.

Support
The ideal student would be one that asks questions. He/she would be one who puts forth effort to learn. The ideal student would be willing to share his or her thought process or explanation of how he/she obtained a solution. The ideal math student would be willing to learn in a variety of ways. The ideal teacher/tutor is one who offers constant support to his/her students. The ideal tutor clearly states the expectations and crafts each meeting/session to provide adequate practice and support of material.

Motivation
I think that teachers/tutors on all levels must see the whole picture, understand what it takes to push the students to the next level, and try their hardest to accomplish that. I understand that a tutor should be willing to go beyond the book examples and think of things that gets the students interested in the subject matter. I would attempt to motivate my students by making the material culturally relevant in their lives and adjusting the material and pace to correspond to the student(s) in front of me.

Learning
My experiences as a teacher, learner, and researcher have led me to believe (1) teachers/tutors should have a good understanding of the background of the student(s) and (2) teachers/tutors have to build efficacy in their students.