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I believe that each student travels on their own unique path to knowledge. I believe that a teacher is a guide along these paths, walking alongside each student, supporting them where they struggle and guiding them when there is a fork in the road.

In a first session with student, I would focus on getting to know the student to better understand how they see themselves as a learner, and to foster a connection that will help the student feel comfortable taking risks and asking for help while problem-solving.

I motivate students by helping them build their confidence as a learner, and grow their understanding of the process of learning. Students who see learning as a process of curiosity, perseverance and growth do not get discouraged when they struggle to get the "correct" answer. Rather, they readily try a new approach or strategy and gain a deeper understanding of the problem in front of them.

If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, I try to talk to the student about which parts of the concept or practice they already understand and then teach to and build on that knowledge. I believe that this not only helps the student feel comfortable and confident as they struggle with a challenge, but it also clears the way to create schema to solidify the student's understanding.

When I start to work with a student, I think it is crucial to develop a safe learning environment. Asking students to share their biggest challenges and then be willing to take risks with a tutor requires trust, so I try to be very open about my own learning processes and model perseverance and risk-taking.

Engaging students in school is a particular strength of mine as a classroom teacher. My students would describe me as almost overly-enthusiastic at times because I personally get excited about material. I love calling challenges "juicy," I praise students when they test out a new vocabulary word in their own explanations, and I make a very conscious effort to applaud and celebrate students' hard work.

I help students become independent learners by helping them develop problem solving strategies and practices. Coaching students to approach problems in a variety of ways across multiple subjects enables them to always find a way to start understanding a new concept or solve a new problem.

I help students who are struggling with reading comprehension by working with them on interacting with the text in a variety of ways. Of course, I ask questions to check for comprehension, but I also sometimes ask students to retell parts of the story in their own words, try to act it out, write a letter to a character about themselves, draw a picture of an important scene or idea, etc.

I check student understanding by asking students to talk through their processes and ideas as they work or after they give a response. I may also ask students to solve a similar problem or answer a connected question to see how deep their understanding is and whether or not they can connect their knowledge to other questions and contexts.

The thing I do to build a student's confidence in a subject is to give them positive feedback for the ways in which they approach a problem and the effort that they put into their work. I tell students that it is particularly difficult to persevere through challenging subjects and problems, and I encourage them and praise them for the ways in which they take risks and put themselves out there in tackling subjects that are hard. In this way, a challenging subject is an opportunity to grow and learn, instead of an opportunity to feel failure.