I like to learn about my students prior to tutoring. This includes their academic motivations, personal motivations, interests, hobbies, what their relationship to their school is like, and other things like that. This helps me understand how I can make learning more interesting. I specifically teach chemistry and biology, and for example, if one of my students is interested in pursuing medicine, I like to make medical references in order to keep them engaged. Another example would be if one of my students is artistically inclined--I like to use drawings and figures to help explain concepts.