Mar15

Wants To Learn Division Without Times Tables – Yr 10 Maths

by EzyMath on March 15th, 2012 at 5:16 am
Posted In: Mentoring Relationship, Parents Advice

My student is in Year 10, but she does not know her times tables. She even struggles with her 2 times tables. When I arrived, the student and her mother asked me to teach her long division. I am aware that my student needs to build her foundations first – her multiplication skills should be improved before moving on. However, I am unsure whether I should keep teaching her long division as asked, or to try and focus on Year 10 work.

Firstly, if she can’t do her times tables how did she manage to get through year 8 before they were allowed calculators? It seems rather challenging to accept this, however, you are right – long division cannot be learned without knowing times tables. At the same time, times tables are usually rote learned at a young age – you can’t exactly “explain” times tables, they need to be memorized.

You should probably give some homework for times tables regularly while focusing on teaching the student what will currently help them in class so that she doesn’t fall further behind. Either way, you cannot completely neglect the request of the client, however, they obviously do not understand what it takes to succeed in mathematics – otherwise their request would be somewhat different. As a tutor it is your responsibility to make sure the client has accurate expectations about what it takes to achieve their goals. Tutoring works better when everybody is on the same page

Here are a few points you can act on:

 

  • Speak to the student and client to find out how the student has managed so far without knowing times tables – there must be an explanation which may could prove useful.

 

  • Spend some time developing the student’s algebra and calculator skills. Together this could probably help to circumvent the weakness in times tables.

 

  • It would probably help to sit down with the client and student to advise what your professional opinion is in this situation and what you think needs to be done. It should be a discussion where at the end, your question about what you should do will be answered by consensus in the conversation. Arrive, with the student’s help at a plan you can carry out.

 

  • Use examples to illustrate how you arrived at your conclusions. For example, in the process of teaching long division the student must have constantly fumbled. And probably this was because of times tables not because of long division? Point this out.

 

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Mar12

Year 12 Maths – Study Habits Approach

by EzyMath on March 12th, 2012 at 8:08 am
Posted In: Mentoring Relationship, Senior High School Tutoring, tutoring, Tutoring Methods

Year 12 student: I need to work on improving her problem solving skills/independent learning, as well as her self-belief (such as trying more questions individually before asking). How do I best integrate some of the learning strategies into tutorial sessions for a year 12 student?

Depends which learning strategies you are referring to. Talking Aloud for example may seem a little patronizing to a year 12 student but asking them to explain concepts back to you or talk you through a question can achieve the same purpose.

Generally speaking, the most important learning strategies for senior students are problem solving skills as you mention and general study habits.

There are whole books about problem solving skills but a few things to try are:

 

  • The self questioning process to probe the student rather than offering solutions immediately.”What does the question want from you? What are you given? What haven’t you used yet? Etc”. Ultimately they must do this on their own so write these down on paper and ask them to keep it next to them whenever practicing math.
  • Breaking their dependence on you which is largely habitual rather than necessary. If the student asks you a question where you know they can answer it without you, insist they try. When the have a set of similar questions to ask you, answer first only one and then ask them to attempt the next on their own.

Fostering strong study habits when tutoring a year 12 student is crucial. Half the challenge in grade 12 is managing the volume of content that needs to be covered while leading a balanced life. Here it can be useful to relate your own experiences as first hand solutions that work. Important study habits to focus on are:

 

  • Planning in advance what content, what gaps will be covered at which point. This is especially important when it comes to test time.
  • Teaching the student to be independent and seek to solve their own problems rather than waiting for you each week. For example asking their teacher or a friend for some help or looking through worked examples in their textbook. An important part here is helping students learn to take ownership over their work and results.
  • Creating a structure or loose process to their working week such that maths is done throughout the week rather than doing it all in one day.
  • Develop the generally correct attitude for mathematics. That is, taking things as slow as they require to truly comprehend content, taking the time to put pen to paper and work through questions, taking the time to reflect on strengths and weaknesses.

The sort of study habits mentioned can only be instilled through conversation and discussion. You will need to actually show them what to do, specifically.  Try to focus on one thing each week and reflect on the students progress in that regard next tutorial. Measure what is working and what is not, this is the nature of mentoring. As the student starts to experience the benefits of your counsel they will become more responsive to your advice.

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Mar10

Tutor Student Relationship – Needs Work

by EzyMath on March 10th, 2012 at 5:39 am
Posted In: Mentoring Relationship, Motivation, tutoring, Tutoring Issues

Yr 11 student has improved well over the past few weeks, but he is still not able to work through problem solving questions well. The biggest concern with him is that he hesitates a lot during class, he fails to cooperate and often suggests that my teaching methods and ideas are not fitting his style. I am given the impression, however, that he is simply not doing enough questions to challenge himself so that he can improve. I am still wondering, how to improve tutor-student relations, as he seem to still unable to trust me when setting him work to do at home.

There are quite a lot of issues presented here. The most important of those is probably your relationship with the student. Why doesn’t he trust you? If he does not like and trust the tutor then he will not learn from you and you will not be able to inspire him.
Before discussing that issue however, his complaint should be acknowledged. If he claims that your approach is not fitting his style, this must be addressed. Most importantly, the student must feel considered. Reflect on what you have/haven’t done to make him feel that way?
Sometimes students complain that a tutor isn’t fitting their style, when this happens you must ask yourself two questions:

 

  1. Am I really not adapting adequately?
  1. Does the student just expect me to teach in a way that he feels will be useful but I personally know would not help him? A common example of this is students who just want to be told how to answer questions without worrying about why it works that way.

If number 1 reflects your scenario then it is up to you to adapt to the student, not the other way around. If you feel you are unable to do so then perhaps somebody else might be. If number 2 more closely resembles your situation you must explain to the student why his approach is inadequate – he must ultimately agree with you otherwise tuition will not work. Usually this agreement takes time to develop however, but it won’t happen without confrontation and discussion.
In regard to the trust issue, it seems like perhaps you have not built enough rapport with the student and/or not sufficiently demonstrated your expertise. Rapport happens from:

 

  • Praise – perhaps try to give him more credit for his successes, regardless how small. Help him realise the ways in which he has already improved. You can even praise him in other regards.
  • Similarity – relate to his troubles and challenges. We all have at least basic similarities it is just a matter of highlighting them. At the very least at some point in your own academic career you must have shared some of the challenges he is currently facing – let him know about them and how you overcame them. Tell of other students with similar challenges that you have helped.
  • Co-operation – this is probably the most important component in this scenario. You must work as a team otherwise tuition will not be effective. Plan what work will be done together with him, make sure he agrees with your approach and when he doesn’t compromise such that the outcome is mutually acceptable. You must be on the same team – this cannot be stressed enough. Since he is in year 11 you can speak rather directly: “I don’t want to set you work that you don’t want to do or don’t believe to be useful. What are you willing to do? Here’s what I think, do you agree?” Etc

Remember though, building rapport is a process. This is not all about one quick fix conversation but your general manner with the student. Ultimately, fostering a useful relationship is part of your responsibility as a tutor – without it tuition will be ineffective.

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Feb24

Year 4 Maths, Some General Advice

by EzyMath on February 24th, 2012 at 12:10 pm
Posted In: Mentoring Relationship, Primary Tutoring, Starting Tutoring, tutoring

I am starting with a new student who is in year 4, is there anything I should prepare in particular regarding math problems, or should I concentrate on their text book they use at school?

In year 4 they may not have a text book. If so this is something you will need to bring up with the student and client, perhaps organise for a question book. Having a resource which has an intrinsic structure to it will necessarily provide an easier structure to follow in tutorials themselves. This means you can spend less time preparing work and planning what to do and spend more time on tutoring fundamental concepts and teaching useful learning strategies etc.

If you haven’t worked with such a young student in a while an important thing to remind you is that younger students are much less self aware. You need to double check that they really understand a lot more – you can’t take their agreement and responses on face value as much.

If you are rusty look through the syllabus for year 4 maths it will give you some ideas of how concepts are explained. You will need to draw lots of demonstrations and where possible physical demonstrations as younger students are used to learning this way.

The most important thing is to make the student feel comfortable and build good rapport. Once they like you they will learn from you a lot easier! Use more positive reinforcement to get them on your side.

Younger students also find it harder to concentrate. Keep them engaged by being interactive such as getting them to explain things back to you and be more involved, as involved as possible or they zone out. Also, sitting still may be a challenge – if so just take a 2-3 minute break in the middle of the class, make sure the student get up and moves around to change their physical orientation.

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Feb22

Maths Homework – Hassle Them or Not?

by EzyMath on February 22nd, 2012 at 11:59 am
Posted In: Mentoring Relationship, Motivation, Starting Tutoring, Tutoring Issues

One student (yr 11 maths) seems a little lazy with the homework I assign them. I’m not sure whether my approach and attitude when assigning homework is not correct or they are just generally reluctant to do homework. I don’t want to be strict in enforcing homework as I don’t want to seem like a nagging parent or teacher. Is there a subtle way in which I can get the students to feel they need to do their homework regularly?

This is an excellent question and a common challenge for tutors, especially when starting to work with a new student. Here are some important considerations:

  • Reasons: Firstly, you can’t guess why they are not doing their homework – you will need to ask them. It is important to understand why they aren’t doing their work so that you can know what to do about it.

Perhaps they only care about passing maths and not high achievement so the extra homework to them may seem unnecessary. What do they actually want to get out of tutoring? Maybe they are having family problems at home and don’t have time or are too emotionally troubled to focus on homework? Perhaps they do not realise the importance of the work you are setting them and have inaccurate expectations about what it will take to succeed?

 

  • Relationship: It is important not to come across as a nagging teacher or parent. That’s the whole benefit of tutoring – that they can have a great relationship with their mentor who “gets them”. However, you cannot be too wimpy or passive either. Ultimately you are there to do a job and both you and the student should be mindful of that. Although you are not their “teacher”, you are in a position of some authority. You are the expert and they are in need of your counsel, not the other way around. If they are not going to do your homework then don’t waste time thinking about it and writing it down. Yes, be their friend but be their tutor first. If you know that they will not achieve their goals without the work you are setting then most certainly – nag them! Perhaps even mention the issue to a parent if it comes to that.

 

  • Your responsibility: As a tutor the best we can really do is understand what they want to achieve, make sure they understand what it will take to get there and tutor them accordingly in the smoothest most effective way possible. Of course, we must also keep parents in the loop. Obviously a good tutor will motivate and inspire a student to succeed but we cannot force them to work.

 

  • Your attitude: It is possible that your attitude while setting homework is contributing to the problem. While the relationship will be different with each student, generally, setting homework should be a serious matter and you should demonstrate to the student that you expect this work to be done. If you come over and they haven’t done their work don’t wave it off like its no big deal. At the very least treat it seriously and have a chat with them about why they are not doing it.

 

  • A good way to enforce work is to get the student involved in assigning it. At the end of each lesson plan the students’ homework together. Ask if it’s enough or too little, if they can handle more etc… if they are unreasonable explain to them why this is required and ensure they understand. When the student is involved in setting their own work they will be much more committed to it.
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