Fritzie B.

Mathematics is the most common subject that many students fear. I believe that every student can learn and understand Math only if they have a patient teacher explaining concepts to them. This is where I come in as a tutor. I make sure that all my students can understand the concepts by patiently explaining to them and showing them how to solve problems so that they can confidently solve Math problems on their own.

The first time I meet with a student, I try to get a picture of where they are in their Maths subject. I try to gauge their level of knowledge and comfortability in the subject so I can customize my teaching style. I gather as much information as possible for me to have a better understanding of their needs. I don't typically give out extra work/homework at the end of the first session, so there's no pressure.

Math is the type of subject that requires constant practice to be confident in a topic. With this, most of the session duration with me comprises of answering IB-style questions. As needed, I also give out homework to help the students gain confidence in answering questions independently.

When I identify that a student is having difficulty with a specific topic, I focus on that topic and give as many sample problems as possible. I also try to explain the concept using different approaches than what classroom teachers would probably use. I often use visualization and analogies to explain complex concepts to students.

I advocate a show-and-tell methodology wherein I show the student how to solve a question first and explain the solutions step by step. Then I ask them to answer a similar question on their own, and in the process, they also present in their own words the steps. With that, I will know to what extent they understood the solutions and the concepts.

I have copies of the IB past papers that I usually use during revisions. I also use the virtual whiteboard tool of the online platform to write down solutions which help in explaining concepts better.