Learning is a lifelong process. Beyond learning facts, solving math problems, and expressing oneself creatively, teachers have another responsibility--supporting each student in increasing his or her self-esteem and level of confidence when it comes to learning. It is desirable to have each student be self-motivated when it comes to schoolwork, but that is not always the case. Making learning interesting and fun does help many students be more self-motivated. How can you help a student become an independent learner? The higher the confidence level of a student, the more likely s/he will want to try learning on his/her own. To build confidence first requires understanding what the student thinks s/he already knows. For example, when teaching math, I have a student develop a math problem (s/he knows the answer to) for me to solve. This allows the student to demonstrate his/her current level of knowledge and allows me to reinforce what the student correctly understands, and simultaneously identify gaps in the student's knowledge or thought processes. The next step is designing a strategy to break down into manageable parts—or what needs to be learned to eliminate the obstacles to the student's math (in this case) success. This is a problem-solving approach I share with the student--understand what is required, what is known, what is missing, and break down the problem/situation into manageable parts or steps in order to reach the goal. Having an approach to tackle learning challenges saves the student time, lessens the level of stress and helps a student become a more independent learner. How would you help a student stay motivated?