Book A Maths Tutor Now. Find Out Why.
February 15, 2009 Category: Children's Education No Comments »
The spring term which runs from January and usually ends around the end of March is the term during which many schools will find that their pupils make the most progress. The spring term has fewer distractions than the autumn and the summer term. The pupils have adapted to a new year group and possibly a new teacher. There are usually no major drama productions and exams and tests are often held towards the end of the spring term or start of the summer term. If you are contemplating your child having extra maths tuition then this is the time to start finding a maths tutor.
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.
When you start looking for a maths tutor you need to be aware of their qualifications – not just in maths but also their teaching qualifications. Very often someone who is highly qualified in their subject may not be able to appreciate the problems that others have in grasping concepts that seem so straightforward to them. A good maths tutor will be able to appreciate the difficulties that their pupils may have and will use different methods to explain various different concepts. Primary aged children in particular will need to have visual, practical and animated resources to help them understand and apply concepts.
A skilled maths tutor will have many resources available. The National Curriculum has objectives that have to be taught but how this is done is up to the tutor. Lively and inspirational teaching will involve using computer programs and will involve a fun, challenging and competitive aspect to the teaching. One of the first tasks a maths tutor will carry out is an assessment to see the level their pupils are working at. This does not have to be done in a test-like environment and an enlightened maths tutor will even make assessments fun.
The maths tutor should discuss with you how your child’s maths age compares with their actual age in each area. Using the results of the assessment the maths tutor may well produce a personalised tutoring programme designed to fit your child’s ability, needs and learning style rather than their age. The programme will give your child extra care and attention in weaker areas, plus constant encouragement and positive reinforcement in stronger ones, accelerating their pace of 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.
Small Classes and Individual Teaching
February 12, 2009 Category: Children's Education No Comments »
Small classes are preferable rather than big unfriendly ones since dance is a very individual thing. It is essential to find a school that is not simply there for a profit but the success of each student. Try to find school that offer small classes of around six to twelve students per class.
Small children, especially, can soon disappear in the crowd. They may even feel a bit crowded and not want t attend class anymore. Small classes tend to build a really good environment that is conducive to learning. When they need to ask for advice there isn’t a lot of competition to be heard and there’s still enough individuals to create a dynamic.
For a creative art like dance it is vital for a student to be able to take advantage of one on one instruction. This is because everyone is different and will have their own creativity to give to a class. Having a personal dance trainer is not usually feasible, as it is fairly expensive and many dance routines require a group setting. However some individual coaching is a good option within the group atmosphere.
The reasons for individual dance instruction are just as interesting to examine. There are many reasons why a young student might need an individual coach.
Extra help:
Anyone who has ever fallen behind at school will know how easy it is to occur. For whatever reason, many young dancers find that there is a time when they can’t quite grasp a move or even a series of moves. For this situation, individual training will quickly get the child back on track without suffering the embarrassment of not knowing the routine at recital time.
A Special Performance:
Some live performances require that a child perform on their own. Sometimes some individual coaching is essential to get the result everyone really wants. An individual coach might mean an extra day or just some extra time before and after each normal class.
Learns at a different pace from the rest of the class:
Each person will learn at their own speed. A good teacher will adjust the speed of the class to go well with the average learning ability. Several children may perhaps learn faster and others slower than the average pace. As a result the teacher will give these children a little individual attention. When children learn slower it does not indicate that they are not good dancers, with some help they will in a little while be up with the rest of the class.
With these points in mind you will be able to look for a school that offers individual teaching in a group setting. This will help to take care of any special needs your child may have to progress in their dance lessons.