The number one teaching principle I stick to is adaptability. Every student is different, and every student-tutor combination is different as well, and the same strategy doesn't always work. This is why I ask my students to set their own goals so that we both know exactly where we're headed. A student-tutor partnership isn't a hierarchy -- it's about how we can work together as a team to help the student move forward.

When I first meet a student, I always take a few minutes to get to know her. What are her goals? What's she hoping to accomplish in our sessions? How will she know that she's accomplished those goals? After that, we make a plan together about how to tackle the next few sessions. We talk about learning strategies that have worked for her in the past, and others that are less effective. The key is that this is a dialogue. We'll then start our work, and check back in at the end of the session about what was helpful, what we can both keep in mind, and what we plan to do next time.

In my sessions, I always focus on building a "toolbox." There's no point in helping someone nail together a house if you're going to take the hammer away at the end! Whether in writing, standardized tests, or critical reading, my students and I discuss not only the practice questions or assignments we're working on, but also what general principles we can glean. I have each of my students also keep a "toolbox notebook" -- a list of the strategies we've looked at. That way, even when I'm not with them, they have a helpful resource for how to tackle problems.

It's hard to be motivated if you're not sure what you're working towards, or why. Clear goal-setting at the beginning of each partnership and each session can help students remember where we're headed. Often, being reminded of the destination helps keep people on track. Sometimes, if that "destination" is far away (ex. "getting a good SAT score" when the test isn't for several months), it can help to break down the goal into concrete steps. Instead of a goal like "get a __ grade," we'd define the goal as "Address this specific comment Ms. X made on my last paper." I also encourage my students to ask their teachers and coaches for feedback -- there's nothing like hearing someone exclaim how much you've grown. Hearing positive feedback from many sources -- not just me -- can be a huge motivating factor for many students.

Often when a student has trouble with a skill or concept, teachers and tutors will try to simplify or simply keep repeating it. Simplification doesn't hurt, but most of the time it's more effective to take a totally different route: a different central analogy, a different medium (writing vs. drawing a diagram vs. using physical objects), or a different tone. The first step, however, is to ask the student what exactly he doesn't understand. If you can ask the student to explain the concept back to you, you can often find exactly where the misunderstanding is.

It's my experience that difficulties with reading comprehension stem disproportionately from difficulties reading the question, rather than comprehension of the passage itself. Breaking down each question format and asking the student to create his own questions can be a huge help with this. I also believe visual reading is a massively helpful tool. Underlining, drawing arrows, and summarizing each paragraph as you finish it are other techniques that I use with my students on a regular basis. The best part is that all of these are tools, rather than answers.

Every one of my students is different, so it's hard to name one strategy that's "most successful." However, I place a big emphasis on personal connection. Being able to relate to the student and discuss things outside of our work together is a big step towards a healthy working relationship, and has the added benefit of becoming useful in review. For example, if a student doesn't understand a particular concept, we can try to relate it to something in the student's own life that might be similar or relevant, like baseball statistics, the structure of a concerto, or calculating gas mileage in a car.

It's easy to become discouraged and unmotivated when you're told you're bad at something (even implicitly, such as by getting a grade that disappoints you). I make it a priority to remind my students of two things: first, that not understanding something may have a lot to do with how it's being taught, not with them. Perhaps they're a different kind of learner! And second, I'd remind them of their strengths and try to capitalize on those to move forward with the subject, by pointing out the ways in which English and science overlap, for example, or the interdisciplinary nature of something like archaeoastronomy, which combines astrophysics with history.

Self-assessments are useful, as are practice quizzes, but I find the most helpful technique for assessing a student's understanding is to ask him or her to teach the material back to me. Talking through a problem, explaining reasoning, and answering "devil's advocate" questions are surefire ways to know if a student has mastered the material.

Confidence comes when a student feels comfortable, supported and -- crucially -- unembarrassed at mistakes. I strive to provide my students with tools that make them comfortable addressing new assignments as much as old ones, and I create a very supportive environment by providing positive feedback and context. However, the third component is very much an issue of self-esteem. Working on the first two and proving to the student that she can do this will allow her to freely admit when she's confused or has made an error. Making a mistake isn't a problem when you know what went wrong and can quickly fix it!

My first source for evaluating a student's needs is the student himself. I ask each of my students to set goals for themselves, and to outline to me how I can be most helpful. After I've started working with a student, I can get a better sense of where the student's strengths and weaknesses are, and how I can make both stronger. The student's parents might also be a resource for assessing the student's needs, but my focus is very much on how the student wants our sessions to go, and how I can help him work towards his own goals.