Teacher of Mathematics AA SL/HL; holds BA & MA in Philosophy with Mathematics Minor with 2+ years of teaching experience.
Teacher of Mathematics AA SL/HL; holds BA & MA in Philosophy with Mathematics Minor with 2+ years of teaching experience.
Philosophy
Philosophy (Mathematics Minor)
My goal is to train students to think independently. To do so, they must learn the general principles instead of memorizing the solutions to specific problems. On my end, I will incorporate visualizations and real life examples to help students extrapolate the overarching principles.
In a typical first session, I will ask the student their biggest challenge in math and the topics in which they need the most help. In getting to know each other, we will also talk about our experience in learning math.
I will help them master the basic concepts and the use of GDC. I will also give them time to think, not rushing them for the next step.
I will give them personal examples of failures and tell them how I have coped and succeeded eventually. We could also go back to easier concepts and review them together.
I will try different methods. For instance, use graphs or the GDC to help them visualize the problem, or find different real life examples. If applicable, we
I will use analogies to explain the problem and ask the student to provide their best guess of the passage. For math problems, we could identify the key terms (numbers and math terms) and reformulate the problem with symbols and abstractions.
First, we explore the syllabus together in the beginning and the end of the curriculum. This way, we could keep track of our progress and students would know where they should place their energy. Secondly, it is important to earn the student's trust. Typically, sharing personal learning experience works. We also bond through identifying the wrong answers in the textbook together.
I would try to find appropriate real life analogies, and if possible, focus on the student's personal interest. We could also go back to easier problems and concepts to see that the new subject is just an extension of the old subject.
We would go over past paper questions and mark scheme together and ask students to explain their mistakes.
If a student is struggling, I would go back to easier problems to ensure that they have grasped the basic concepts. I would also ensure that a student is not fixated on an irrelevant detail that would distract them.
I would ask them. I would also look at their quizzes and exams to find if there is a specific area of weakness.
I would incorporate different tools and materials.
Textbooks, graphs, past papers.