Maths Teaching Strategies – Why Our Students Flourish!
Your kid says they “hate” maths? Our maths teaching strategies can help!
If your child is one of the many who declare that they ‘hate’ maths or they’re not good at it, an A Team Tuition tutor could be the answer you’re looking for. Our tutors are aware of the various methods currently being utilised in schools to help children who struggle with maths. Our foolproof 9-point STAR program allows us to work with your child, discover how they’re struggling and why, and use that to tailor a tutoring plan.
Contact A Team Tuition to learn more about our mathematics tutoring program!
What maths strategies do schools use for children who are struggling?
There are several effective, evidence-based ways to teach maths to children who are struggling. These can be used at all grade levels, and at all levels of ability. Here are just a few of the most effective.
Explicit instruction with cumulative practise
This involves making the learning process completely clear for students. Using clear and concise language, the teacher models a skill and verbalises their thinking process. Making sense of multi-step maths problems can be a challenge for students who have problems with language comprehension. Maths requires a surprising amount of language comprehension. There’s a whole mathematical vocabulary out there, and maths word problems can be problematic for kids who don’t have a high level of reading ability. For those students, explicit instruction can reduce how much language processing a student needs to do. Once that’s done, your child can focus on the maths skills they need to develop.
Visual representation
This allows students to actually see maths, which is critical for visual learners. Maths can be visually represented through pictures, graphs, diagrams, or bar models. It can help students understand abstract maths concepts and allow them to solve problems. In this way, language barriers are removed for children who learn and think differently, or who have English as their second language.
Schema-based instruction
Teaching students to identify word problem types is one of the most effective ways to help students solve word problems. According to research, this is particularly effective at helping students who struggle with maths. By teaching students to recognise patterns in word problems, they can use what they know about patterns to solve the problem.
Peer interaction
Pairing students up to work together and having discussions about maths is very effective. One example is to have a child complete a problem alone, and then pair up with a partner to share what they learned and how they came to their answer. Teachers often pair students with similar abilities, or with different strengths. Peer interaction helps develop a child’s language and maths vocabulary and helps them discover problem solving processes. In this method, students are encouraged to compare the ways they solved the problem and discuss these differences.
How do A Team Tuition tutors approach children who struggle with maths?
At A Team Tuition, our tutors know that many students often feel intimidated and struggle to connect to maths. It can be detrimental to their confidence, and even inhibit their desire to try. Our tutors are aware that a child declaring that they are ‘not good at maths’ is really them asking for the subject to be explained in a way they can understand. We all learn differently, and so we all sometimes need to approach a subject in a different way.
Tutors at A Team Tuition implement custom strategies and techniques designed to transform the way in which your child thinks about maths and changes their approach to learning. They’ll gain a greater interest in the subject, which will increase their motivation. In this way, it’s a much shorter path to success.
If your child needs further help with maths, our Mathematics Academic Personal Trainers are professionals with experience at getting the best out of their students, while helping them to reach their full potential. They understand that in the critical initial years of schooling, some students adopt a process of simply parroting formulas without understanding the processes behind them, or how to apply them to more complex situations. It makes it harder for them to learn more advanced subject matter. Our Mathematics Academic Personal Trainers (or APTs) focus on the mathematical processes to ensure your child has a complete understanding of the content of their lessons, rather than just being able to remember a formula.
Another key aspect of our program is the tutor developing a positive working relationship with your child. The maths tutor provides a safe space where your child can be comfortable asking any questions – something that is often hard for them when in a classroom in front of other kids. The result is a happier, more confident child who will feel more motivated and interested in their maths classes.
Is private maths tutoring the answer for your child?
Get in touch with A Team Tuition to find out.