Maths at School is Hard – Here’s Why

For most, the word “maths” will stir up feelings of irritation and letdown. A comment resembling “i was so bad at math” will most certainly emerge. Usually that’s the end of how much we think about maths. For some of us it is a different story. For some, the word “maths” stirs up feelings of pride and confidence in one’s abilities; an acknowledgment of just how much maths has helped us in life and how many opportunities for education and career it exposed us to. What a difference in perspective. Why does maths not click for so many?
Maths is rarely taught cooperatively – with partners, groups or teams. Yet to succeed at it, math requires a lot of discussion, feedback and reflection. Reflection in particular is important – unlike many subjects understanding of maths comes in layers and reflection is necessary.
Maths is rarely taught globally – with the big picture in mind. It is usually taught in small micro-chunks. Relationships between topics are neglected and concepts become too patchy to remember. Some topics are learned out of context, without their real value emphasised. Algebra is a prime example. Often taught as just another topic, algebra is so much more. If mathematics were a language then algebra would be its grammar, syntax and punctuation.
Maths is rarely taught with real world relevance. Theorems and formulas become more distant from a student’s life than they really are. Maths seems useless and students resort to memorizing maths instead of understanding it.
Maths is rarely taught proactively – with teachers encouraging lots of questions and a deep understanding. Teachers have strict guidelines, large classes and limited time. The result is many, many gaps in knowledge.
Most importantly, maths is never taught strategically with a focus on the learning skills required to succeed. Unknowingly students rely on memorizing rules and processes which simply does not work for maths. Those hard word problems that we all hated cannot be answered by remembering maths. Problem solving and lateral thinking are required – unfortunately they are not explicitly taught at school.
It is no surprise that many struggle with math but it does not need to be this way.
These are just a few ideas to ponder. If you want to succeed at math, you need to stop focussing solely on the content and start focusing on your learning strategy.
Students who start to learn maths the right way can often improve by 20-35% in just months. As grades improve, further study and career opportunities become available. Students can finally join the group for whom the word “maths” stirs up feelings of pride and confidence.…

Benefits of a Maths Tutor Over Online Tutoring

Many believe that tutoring is only needed and essential for those children who are struggling and needing help with their homework and to improve the grades. The fact is tutoring is beneficial for children in a number of positions. For those who are already well advanced, tutoring can be advantageous in preparing the child for the next year, future topics in the syllabus and thus getting a head start. Increasingly however tutoring is being employed for those pupils who are planning on sitting entrance level exams in order to be accepted to higher and more elite schools and education facilities.
It is unquestionable that the advent of the internet has brought added interactivity in learning and education for pupils and people of all ages and abilities. The internet also has a comprehensive knowledge base that would rival many public libraries, although the authority of some if not most of these educational and knowledge based resources can be questionable. For example, Wikipedia a number of years ago did not have the proper and right levels of control and security over its editors and contributors and thus the information it published. Now of course it is a different story and is probably the pinnacle reference point for all knowledge.
Online tutoring will usually follow a set, standard and progressive learning procedure that will ultimately start at more foundation and beginner’s level and subjects leading right up to more challenging and higher levels. This automated tutorial will not be able to understand when a child needs extra help and assistance on certain subjects and nor will it be able to change the way it tries to explain something. These online tutorials usually follow a ‘one size fits all’ approach.
Personal maths tutors will have the experience and expertise of tailoring and personalising the learning material for each child. As each child learns at different paces and picks up and learns information at different ways, qualified maths tutors can not only understand this but work with it maximising the impact of any education and any future learning with each individual child. Furthermore the reinforcement of a person; a tutor instead of a ‘Well Done’ graphic is always responded to more encouragingly by the pupil. Learning through teaching has been practiced for hundreds if not thousands of years, so it is no surprise in the effectiveness of tutoring and employing Maths tutor. Online tutoring does not fit every child and is not always as effective, but the use of online educational resources such as BBC GCSE Bitesize is a great supplement to full time education and a Maths tutor.…