First sessions always start with discussion of a subject's foundations. If we nail these, the rest of the learning becomes ten times easier.

I'm big on listening. It's my job to hear what a client needs instead of jumping right into practice problems or revisions. First, we talk about goals. Then, we set up a timeline and steps for how to achieve those goals.

I approach sessions with a lot of focus. We work to build consistency in tackling subjects so that the tools used in tutoring sessions improve long-term study techniques.

I like to think in terms of "why." Tests aren't a reward in themselves. It's important to identify a personal reason for wanting to achieve a certain grade or score.

I would ask the student to explain their understanding starting from the basics. Often, academic difficulty comes from teachers skipping over little holes in understanding that grow over time.

Read out loud. I'm an actor, so I'm a huge proponent of acting out text, even if it's not written to be performed.

I think that's the most interesting part of a tutor's job--getting to find the ways to make a subject personal for a student. I love talking with students to connect coursework to their passions/life experiences.

I think practice tests are good diagnostic measures, but I like to prefer conversations about the material. This tells me if the student understands the material as opposed to how to take the test.

I like to discuss the idea of intent. An author doesn't write for the sake of writing, just as a scientist doesn't build graphs for the sake of building a graph. These are tools that people are using to communicate something underneath. Once we reframe to focus on intent, interpreting information becomes a lot more engaging.

I identify where the student is a rock star. These areas are like little lighthouses on tests. When test panic sets in, my students always know what type of problems they can go to get a confidence boost. I'm also a big believer in habit. If my students are developing strong study habits and rituals, they don't have to walk into a test and hope for the best, they know exactly what they are doing and can do it fearlessly.

If a student is struggling, I ask them to walk me through the fundamentals of the problem. A lot of times, this helps me find holes from when they first learned a topic in the classroom. We also talk about learning styles, strategies that have helped them in the past, and what they are looking to get out of tutoring.

When working problems, I always try to talk less than my students. This helps me pick up on cues as to what they are asking for in terms of help.

I'm a huge fan of pen/paper. This helps me build creative exercises that fit the student's needs. For example, I just did a session where I had my student speed-draw all the imagery in an ACT reading passage. I also love recommending books/articles for outside reading (not specifically test prep, but challenging, engaging texts).