I think it is important to understand the concepts behind any material before trying to apply it and further understand something at a much greater depth. That is more true for science than almost any subject in school.

I think it is important to establish a sense of respect both ways between the student and the tutor. I need to figure out what it is a student is comfortable with as well as how they learn the greatest. There are so many different styles of learning, and each student is unique in how they understand material. The role of a tutor is to determine what would be best for each individual student and to move forward from there.

A student can become an independent learner as they learn what is most suitable for them. Once they find a way to be able to read and understand material and concepts as well as to continue a step further to apply them and really understand, they can become independent learners.

It is not always easy to stay motivated; however, I have found that it definitely helps to make the material as interesting as possible by playing off each student's likes to make it somewhat fun. I also think that taking breaks, if used properly, can help to keep a student from feeling overwhelmed with the material that is being covered.

I would break the concept down to as base of an idea as possible. Learning material is like building. If you do not start with a good base, it would be nearly impossible to create something worth having. With learning, if one cannot understand the smallest parts of an idea or concept, they would have a very difficult time getting it as a whole. However, as more and more becomes understood, the student has a much greater chance at learning the material.

Reading comprehension is a learned skill. It is extremely important to teach them what to read for as well as how to interpret the material that they are reading. In science, it is important to read both the text and the tables and pictures. Not everyone will understand the material after doing one or the other, but reading the words and then seeing what the author is talking about in action makes the ideas stick much better.

I think that it is student to student based but it is important to establish common ground on how the student learns best. That being said, I think sessions that include interactive learning lead to the fastest understanding of material rather than just a question and answer based one.

This is not always an easy thing to accomplish, but it is important to find things that they enjoy doing and try to apply the material in scenarios that could include that activity. It is also helpful to keep the studying a little bit lighter at times so the student does not become upset or overwhelmed.

I think going over concepts and then giving some example problems to work through together really lets the concept become engraved into their minds. It is not very helpful to give them material, leave, and make them do it by themselves to only correct later. A student learns best when they see their mistakes and can correct them as they progress. That being said, it is important for them to find the end answer alone, but it is also not hurtful to help guide them to it.

I think meaningful compliments really keep a student happy while learning material. I do not mean giving them useless compliments so that when they receive one they don't feel it is genuine, but rather specific compliments (no matter how small) to show that as a tutor we really care about helping progress their learning experience.

I like to, in the first few sessions, find what way helps them learn the best by employing picture-based, text-based, or concept-based learning. Once I see which the student is capable of understanding the easiest and applying later in the session, I will tend to use that as we progress in their education.

As a tutor, we need to be able to find and employ the means for our student's education. That being said, if they are, for example, a picture-based learner, I will stress more the charts in books and reading to them to understand what is going on. I think this is critical in concepts such as neuron firing. When it is more than just words on a page, the student is much more capable of visualizing what is happening and then applying that knowledge.

The student's homework, notes, book, my previous knowledge including: former class notes, charts, pictures, exams, and homework, as applicable.