The D Spot

Of all the subjects in school, math is traditionally the hardest to teach. Unless a student has an aptitude or interest in numbers and the logical problem solving involved in using mathematical equations to get the answers, teaching math will always be challenging to teachers in school, tutors, and parents.

Some kids are just lucky (or is it just in the genes?) Most of my kids love (yes, L-O-V-E) Math. Angelo, BA and Vince were in Section B at the Ateneo High School (the section where the best in Math, along with Section A of course, are placed). Pauline gets very good grades in Math even without exerting a lot of effort. Sometimes, she asks her siblings for help when things are not clear to her, both online and face-to-face. Angela and Alan Jr. do not have problems with Math. There is of course, Monica, who took up Communication Arts and then went to Law School, to avoid Math. Little did she know that yes, there is Math in Taxation. If she could, she does not want to have anything to do with Math at all.

This is the reason why when friends and relatives come for help when they or their children need help in Math. Angelo and Caren used to tutor Math when they were in college but now they do not have the time anymore as they are raising a family. The other kids are as busy as ever in school—the only thing they could do now is to recommend their friends who give Math tutorials as their part-time work or tutorial centers that have proven to bring out the Math sense in their students and easier understanding of Math based on feedback they receive from their network of friends and peers.

One-on-one teaching
One-on-one teaching is essential to the success of Math tutoring. This is because every person has a different way of processing numerical information and how to solve for the answer. A good math tutor will look at the student’s computations and will discover how the student crunches numbers in his head. Are they doing it logically in a step-by-step process or are they doing the computations haphazardly, eventually stumbling on the answers? Great math teachers, and subsequently tutors, will see patterns developing in their students and come up with a way to make sense of it all for the students to easily understand in order to help them derive the right answer in the quickest time possible.

This is the one greatest limitation of online math tutoring. The tutor cannot see how the student processes information and therefore cannot adjust his teaching accordingly. Students are best taught when they are made to concentrate on the problem and learning online does not guarantee this. Unless the student is mature and disciplined enough to hunker down and get down to the business of crunching numbers, odds are there are a lot of distractions available online that’ll get in the way.

Online tutoring
Still, students and parents may consider online math tutoring is an option. Online tutoring is convenient with no commuting, no tight schedules. It should however be affordable. There are many websites that offer one-on-one tutoring and solutions from simple to complex (algebra, geometry, trigonometry, calculus, probability and statistics) math problems. Most of them are paid services and could become costly, with others charging for their services on a monthly basis. You should therefore choose wisely to get the full benefits out of online tutoring.

Here are some of the things that you need to look at and consider:

• Students should get the instruction needed to be good with numbers, not just solutions to their math problems but an understanding of the subject as well.
• Interactive tutoring should come from qualified tutors who hold graduate and/or masters degrees.
• There should be a one-on-one targeted approach to tutoring math, with an online classroom fitted with interactive whiteboards, graph papers, polygon tools, worksheets and basic math formulas.
• VoIP communication that is like practically having the tutor in the room with your child is an added factor.
• Don’t go for those that offer quick fixes or overnight solutions, like when you submit the problems to them at night you will get solutions solved and emailed to you the next morning.

A simple solution–bond with your child
A simple suggestion is to try to learn the subject along with your child and you become their tutor. Learning beside your child and solving for the answer could become an excellent opportunity to connect and bond with your child and help you learn something new every day.

P.S.: This is not a sponsored post.Ahead Tutorial & Review and Ahead Interactive are owned by Rossana Llenado who happens to be a good friend of mine. Rossana blogs at W (Working Woman. Double You).

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