Years 3-10 Mathematics
Students who find Mathematics challenging or who would simply like to improve their skills may benefit from a personalised approach to developing their numeracy skills. In the primary years (Years 3-6) the focus is on identifying areas of strengths and weaknesses and then developing understanding. Students are not always aware of the specific areas they need assistance with. In these situations, I may conduct some preliminary testing of general numeracy concepts, liaise with parents and classroom teachers regarding the student’s current understanding and speak with the student to gauge their level of confidence. Lessons will then focus on strengthening specific mathematical skills, such as recall of times tables, understanding place value or how to carry out conversions between fractions, decimals and percentages. Practice worksheets and activities are set when requested by parents.
In the secondary years (Years 7-10) students usually arrive at tuition lessons with a reasonable understanding of the skills they need help with. For example, a typical scenario might be that a Year 8 student is having trouble with algebra at school and may have brought along a practice test which they must complete in preparation for an upcoming test. My strategy in this situation is to reassure the student, quickly identify their prior knowledge and provide a personalised teaching approach to help them build the necessary mathematical understanding and skills needed to tackle the concept. I also provide assistance in how to logically set out mathematical calculations. In other situations, a student may simply require help with homework that has been set at school based on concept/s in an offline or online text book.
Additionally, I demonstrate how students can use various digital tools, such as scientific calculators, and online graphical software to check the accuracy of solutions and/or present data, which are important skills for success in secondary mathematics classes. Once again, small, additional homework tasks are set upon request to assist students develop their understanding and confidence.