Characteristics of Highly Able Math Students

Maths is not a subject that many can master. Most just learn to apply it and get through academics. However, there are some gifted children who take to maths like a fish takes to water. Their uncanny ability to solve much difficult challenges of maths which is beyond their level can be evident in a maths class and often during maths tuition London. It is the duty of the maths tutor to identify such students and nurture their innate potential to the full. Here we would throw light on its various aspects.

What is mathematical promise?

In order to identify mathematically able students, it is first important to define mathematical promise. Going by the definition of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Task Force, Mathematical Promise is a function of motivation, belief and experience or opportunity. None of these traits are a fixed quantity and each need to be developed to the hilt to maximize reaching the true potential of the student. The definition encompasses students who are traditionally identified as gifted, talented, precocious etc. It also adds that student who’s above average talent and skills are excluded from the gifted children bracket but are counted as mathematically promising students.

Traits to look for in a mathematically gifted child

Mathematically gifted children would obviously show some traits and characteristics that would not be visible in the other average students. We list below some characteristics that any alert maths tutor should be able to identify as indicators of the child’s potential. While some students can exhibit all the characteristics, but some will show them at different times depending on cognitive, socio-emotional and physical development. Most mathematically able students would independently demonstrate the ability to –

·       Demonstrate the mathematical thing along with a keen awareness of quantitative information in the world around them.

·          Ability to think logically and symbolically about all quantitative, spatial and abstract relationships.

·        Ability to easily perceive, visualize and generalize both numeric as well as non-numeric patterns and relationships.

·         They can reason any problem analytically, deductively and inductively.

·         They can utilize reverse reasoning processes and switch methods in a systematic yet flexible manner.

·      They can easily work, communicate and justify mathematical concepts in their own creative and intuitive ways, in writing as well as verbally.

·         They can apply their learning to novel situations.

·         They can come up with probing mathematical queries to even application of concepts.

·         They always take up the challenge and persist for solutions considered complex, messy or ill-defined.

·        They show an uncanny ability to organize information and data in numerous ways while disregarding irrelevant data.

·        They not only grasp mathematical concepts and strategies quickly but retain it as well and can easily relate them within and across content areas and real-life situations.

·         They can easily come up with multiple solutions to the problem.

·      They use mathematics with innate confidence and do not hesitate to take risks with mathematical concepts and strategies.

·         They can easily apply estimation and mental computation strategies.

Teaching mathematically gifted children

Teaching mathematically gifted children needs some proper planning and execution. This requires a mental preparation from the teacher’s side as well. Foremost, the teacher must let go of the concept of normal or sticking to the teacher’s curriculum. Even the gifted children must be given opportunities to grow from where they are at that point of time. They must not be given advanced work much earlier. Simultaneously, it is important to remember that even the gifted children might have weaknesses. It is extremely important to work on both their strengths and weaknesses.

Keeping that in mind, they should be given work and assignments that challenge their over-working brain and urges them to push their boundaries. With gifted children, like the challenged ones; it’s best to get the parents involved. Get them to support and work with the child in his enrichment projects. Often the parents are not aware of the child’s abilities or his changed curriculum. Getting them involved will go a long way in creating the right atmosphere for an all around development of the child. Thus, when you are giving out a differentiated assignment to the child, his parents would understand and not panic.

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How to Avoid Common Mistakes when Hiring a Math Tutor

Maths is not a subject that can be taught by just any tutor. Expertise on the subject does not guarantee a tutor to be the ideal one to teach your child and make him love and understand the subject. Thus when you are searching for a maths tutor, it’s important to be extra careful and avoid some of the common mistakes that most people make.

Ability to communicate

No doubt expertise on the subject is a mandatory requirement but even more important is the ability to transmit that knowledge and understanding through simple means to the students. Most maths tutors often turn out to be notorious communicators. Thus it’s important for a good maths tutor London to communicate properly and lucidly in an interesting and fun manner. To be a good communicator, he listens carefully, interacts with the students and understands their problems and then addresses their needs in the most effective manner. To access the tutor on this parameter, always insist on a few sample classes before you actually hire the tutor.

Attentiveness

For effective teaching, a maths tutor needs to gauge early both the current knowledge as well as the learning ability of the student. Apart from it, he must also have the uncanny ability to understand the student’s current psychological and emotional state which may impact his learning abilities as well at that time. Often due to some issues like crisis at home, a death of a loved one or any other disturbing incident, the student may show signs of attention deficit, lack of motivation to learn or the inability to focus despite trying hard. A good tutor would be able to counsel his student and get him away from this darkness on the right path again.

Guaranteeing results

Any good tutor will be able to access his student in a few classes and then gauge how far the student can be pulled up in the given frame of time. He would be able to guarantee a certain level of performance of the student under his guidance though would always try for a higher level. This will make him responsible and accountable for his teachings. While talking about this guarantee, you can also talk about a cut in fees as penalty in case the minimum guaranteed threshold is not met. This will automatically deter him from neglecting his job or taking it lightly.

Avoiding these mistakes would ensure that your child is actually making a progress.

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Qualities of a good Maths Tutor

Perhaps one subject that is dreaded by maximum students around the globe is maths. However, a good maths tutor can make all the difference and actually cut away the difficulty and hatred associated with the subject. Regardless of whether you are looking for a maths tutor for A level or any of the higher levels, he/she should have some basic skills and qualities that would ensure that all the students understand the subject well and understand and enjoy it thoroughly. Some of those qualities are:-

Passion for the subject and teaching

A tutor can only be good if he is actually passionate about teaching as well as his subject. It is his passion that would propel him to keep on updating knowledge about the subject as well as think of innovative approaches to make his classes more understanding and fun filled. He cannot be a good teacher if teaching is just a job for him to get a salary at the end of the month.

Adaptive and innovative teaching style

Owning to his passion and flair, a good maths tutor would always be flexible and innovative enough to adopt approaches and come up with ideas which will ensure that every student of his understands the concepts clearly and easily. He would constantly be adapting his teaching style to suit the batch of students he is teaching. It would just take him a couple of classes to understand the child’s learning style, capacity and pattern and adapt accordingly.

Makes maths learning fun

A good maths tutor will always be able to transmit his love and passion for the subject amongst his students. A charismatic tutor can actually motivate all his students to love the subject and embed in them the right approach and method to study the subject. He would always boost up their enthusiasm and grow and nurture their interest in it using the right techniques and communication.

Interactive and effective communication

Effective communication skill is crucial for effective interaction between students and the tutor. Accurate eloquence, pronunciation, proper accent, simple language which can be easily assimilated by the students etc. are some of the traits that would not only make the subject interesting and understandable for students but also motivate them to participate in the class as well. He would always encourage them to raise questions and queries and participate in reaching to the solutions with the right application of methods.

Ultimately, a maths tutor must always be realistic, optimistic, trustworthy and supportive.

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