Thursday, February 12, 2009

Is A Maths Tutor Just What You Need?

By Imogen Rampling

With the onset of the new year and the children back in the day-to-day life of the school, parents and teachers often heave a sigh of relief as it is the spring term that is generally seen as the one with the fewest distractions in the whole academic year. The autumn term (or the fall for those in the USA) is often characterised by Christmas theatrical productions and considerable work tends to be involved with rehearsals. The summer term usually involves one or more sports days and end of academic year ceremonies. It is understandable, therefore, that the spring term is met with optimism by teachers and parents. With such opportunity to make real progress, this is an ideal time to consider a maths tutor for your child if they appear to need extra support.

In the month of May, SATs or 'Standard Assessment Tests' take place for children in Year 2 and Year 6. The approaching SAT tests are a strong incentive for many parents to go in search of a maths tutor as the early months of the year leave enough time to make meaningful progress before the tests. Working on a one-to-one basis is highly beneficial and your child will experience a useful boost in confidence through conducting revision activities in this way.

January is also a good time to start lessons with a maths tutor if your child is in year 5 and is having some difficulty with maths. This will give the maths tutor time to make accurate assessments and to see where any problems may lie and to find out what gaps there are in their mathematical understanding. This will give the maths tutor enough time to make a real difference to the level achieved at the end of Year 6.

Once you have found a maths tutor who you think will be suitable, you will need to discuss with them how they plan to tutor your child. You need to be careful in your choice of tutor. Whereas some tutors may be highly qualified in mathematics, they may not be the type of person who can relate to your child at the level of your child's understanding. You need to find a maths tutor who is good at relating to children on different levels. They will adopt different strategies and practical teaching aids depending on the precise needs of your child.

One of the useful tools available to the maths tutor is interactive maths animation. Coupled with teaching methods that will be personally selected for your child's ease and speed of learning the maths tutor will aim to produce a programme of study that will show clear measurable results. There are a wide range of enjoyable maths games that are designed to complement the National Curriculum. It stands to reason therefore that one of the most crucial tasks for your child's maths tutor is to assess at the outset where they are in their learning and how this fits in with where they would be expected to be for their age.

From the initial assessment the maths tutor will be able to see which areas of mathematics the child is finding difficulty with. There may be gaps in the understanding of fundamental mathematical concepts from a year or more before. This can be the cause of lack of progress being made at the level they are currently working on at school. The maths tutor will be able to create a programme of lessons that will teach and consolidate the objectives needed to help make the desired progress. The maths tutor should report this to you and you should be made aware as to the precise level that your child is working at. It will not take many lessons before your child begins to move on with their learning.

After a few lessons, you, your child and your maths tutor will see that self confidence in your child's maths has developed. The maths tutor will continually assess the progress being made and will adjust the lessons appropriately. Progress in all areas of maths will continue to develop and their confidence in applying concepts in maths lessons at school will soon be recognised.

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