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My tutoring approach

 

Meeting each student's individual needs lies at the heart of my approach to tutoring
 

Past learning and experience, present learning needs and future learning goals are all individual.  I therefore tailor my teaching to meet each student's particular needs.  Outlined below are specific teaching practices I employ as a specialist maths tutor to achieve this, assess and improve understanding, build confidence and foster independent learning and evaluation skills. 

Teaching practices I value and employ

General teaching skills

  • Avoiding assuming prior understanding

  • Communicating clearly and precisely

  • Asking numerous, varied questions which test understanding

  • Eliciting responses without leading, and giving time to answer

  • Requiring the student to explain their thought processes

  • Listening to responses and observing carefully, to assess understanding

  • Identifying misconceptions and gaps in understanding and correcting these

 

 

 

  • Valuing the student’s contributions and answering their questions carefully

  • Setting clear objectives for, facilitating, recognising and praising student progress

  • Being friendly, positive, enthusiastic and motivational

  • Being empathic and respectful of the student’s autonomy

  • Providing constructive feedback on completed work

  • Stimulating the student by providing an appropriate level of challenge and extension

 

 

 

 

 

  • Requiring the student to reason mathematically and explain their reasoning

  • Explaining flaws in the student's mathematical logic and providing corrective guidance and encouragement

  • Providing ample opportunity for practice and consolidation of mathematical topics

  • Highlighting important points and repeating them regularly

  • Using different methods and comparing their efficiency to inform method selection

  • Highlighting the role of mathematics in other fields of study, everyday life and work

 

 

Effective approaches for teaching maths specifically

 

  • Appreciating the specifications for and the demands of the maths course the student is studying

  • Highlighting mathematical knowledge the student already has, to reduce anxiety

  • Making connections between related mathematical concepts and highlighting patterns

  • Supporting using related examples, to extend mathematical knowledge and build confidence

  • Breaking multi-stage mathematical tasks down into small steps

  • Requiring the student to interpret and communicate mathematical information

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