The Lemon Fool

When she returns to school in the autumn our daughter will be in her last two years before she sits her GCSE's.

She's been placed in a top maths stream. She's not confident that she belongs there. I'm not so sure she's correct though. She's very good at the subject. However, and just to ensure we don't miss the opportunity we've offered additional (private) tuition.

What should we be looking for in a private tutor please?

I really have no idea where to start

Thank you

AiY (& family)

AsleepInYorkshire wrote:
What should we be looking for in a private tutor please?

Someone who is au fait with current thinking on mathematics, I would have thought. I would be no good because I am 70 years out of date.

My granddaughter does some tutoring, both online and face to face. It's in her subject (not mathematics), I believe, and she is about to start her final year at university. She does it through an agency but, other than that, I know no details.

Have a search online.

TJH

I would have thought a young graduate or undergraduate would be the way to go. Also of course someone with whom your daughter can connect. Ask around. Have other parents got someone that fits the bill?

Dod

tjh290633 wrote:Someone who is au fait with current thinking on mathematics, I would have thought. I would be no good because I am 70 years out of date.
TJH

I can't agree more. You would think that "Math's" wasn't subject to fashions, but it is!
Hands up who learned number bases in primary school, I did before personal computers.
Hands up who knows what a number line is, I don't.

I was taught trig and calculus, now matrices may be regarded as more important than trig.
Log's too, have lost their importance. I took my maths exam using a Log table because I forgot my pocket calculator (which had only just been allowed).

Anyone remember "imaginary" numbers? Ok that's more "A" level. However I think that the name has changed (to protect the innocent). I think they are called "complex" numbers, though they may have changed the name again.

tjh290633 wrote:

AsleepInYorkshire wrote:What should we be looking for in a private tutor please?

Someone who is au fait with current thinking on mathematics, I would have thought.

Um... Rather, someone who is au fait with current thinking and practice in GCSE maths curriculum, I would have thought.

Big thank you for the time you've taken to respond.

My maths is superb. But I can't answer the questions in the way they need. I too have become irrelevant

Cheers

Take care

AiY

Urbandreamer wrote:

tjh290633 wrote:Someone who is au fait with current thinking on mathematics, I would have thought. I would be no good because I am 70 years out of date.
TJH

I can't agree more. You would think that "Math's" wasn't subject to fashions, but it is!
Hands up who learned number bases in primary school, I did before personal computers.
Hands up who knows what a number line is, I don't.

I was taught trig and calculus, now matrices may be regarded as more important than trig.
Log's too, have lost their importance. I took my maths exam using a Log table because I forgot my pocket calculator (which had only just been allowed).

Anyone remember "imaginary" numbers? Ok that's more "A" level. However I think that the name has changed (to protect the innocent). I think they are called "complex" numbers, though they may have changed the name again.

Matrices are hardly a substitute for trig! I learned all that stuff. Basic maths does not change but there are only so many hours in a school syllabus and so the emphasis will change as fashions come and go or the perceived benefits of one branch will overtake another. That is why I think that a yopung graduate or undergraduate would be a helpful way for AiY to proceed.

Dod

Dod101 wrote:

Urbandreamer wrote:

tjh290633 wrote:Someone who is au fait with current thinking on mathematics, I would have thought. I would be no good because I am 70 years out of date.
TJH

I can't agree more. You would think that "Math's" wasn't subject to fashions, but it is!
Hands up who learned number bases in primary school, I did before personal computers.
Hands up who knows what a number line is, I don't.

I was taught trig and calculus, now matrices may be regarded as more important than trig.
Log's too, have lost their importance. I took my maths exam using a Log table because I forgot my pocket calculator (which had only just been allowed).

Anyone remember "imaginary" numbers? Ok that's more "A" level. However I think that the name has changed (to protect the innocent). I think they are called "complex" numbers, though they may have changed the name again.

Matrices are hardly a substitute for trig! I learned all that stuff. Basic maths does not change but there are only so many hours in a school syllabus and so the emphasis will change as fashions come and go or the perceived benefits of one branch will overtake another. That is why I think that a young graduate or undergraduate would be a helpful way for AiY to proceed.

Dod

We discussed this last night Dod. I tend to feel your suggestion is the way we are looking. We do want someone to connect with our daughter and we've asked her to do some research today and see what she comes up with. I'll come back when we've got it sorted and update you all.

Thank you

Take care

AiY

One thing that's not been mentioned yet is the use of on-line resources for maths teaching, and as a parent of a similarly-aged lad, I know from the home-schooling that we've had to endure over the past 18 months that the quality of some of these resources are absolutely superb, and in all honesty, I personally thought that 'we' learnt and embedded more maths-based learning using those types of resources over the home-schooling period than at any time where the 'teacher' was more involved with the setting and marking of work...

I mention this for two reasons - one, that you might want to discuss what ratio of off-line (one-to-one) vs on-line (self-propelled) tutoring might be involved with any prospective tutoring options, and perhaps even ask about the particular on-line resources that might be proposed, as this might open up additional maths-based learning opportunities beyond that which you're specifically paying for at any time, and also secondly, because if any tutoring proposals that interest you look to contain a good proportion of on-line learning (and I imagine this will be the case, and would be surprised if it didn't..), then in my mind the question of personality-compatibility perhaps becomes a little more prominent, in that much of the personal-interaction might actually then be when issues occur with that on-line learning, and in those circumstances, getting on with someone who's trying to help solve 'issues' might be slightly more important than any real 'technical ability', if much of that is getting delivered by on-line resources anyway...

Good luck with your quest, and I'd be interested to hear how you both get on with this, as it's an issue that's likely to affect a lot of us.

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

Itsallaguess wrote:One thing that's not been mentioned yet is the use of on-line resources for maths teaching, and as a parent of a similarly-aged lad, I know from the home-schooling that we've had to endure over the past 18 months that the quality of some of these resources are absolutely superb, and in all honesty, I personally thought that 'we' learnt and embedded more maths-based learning using those types of resources over the home-schooling period than at any time where the 'teacher' was more involved with the setting and marking of work...

I mention this for two reasons - one, that you might want to discuss what ratio of off-line (one-to-one) vs on-line (self-propelled) tutoring might be involved with any prospective tutoring options, and perhaps even ask about the particular on-line resources that might be proposed, as this might open up additional maths-based learning opportunities beyond that which you're specifically paying for at any time, and also secondly, because if any tutoring proposals that interest you look to contain a good proportion of on-line learning (and I imagine this will be the case, and would be surprised if it didn't..), then in my mind the question of personality-compatibility perhaps becomes a little more prominent, in that much of the personal-interaction might actually then be when issues occur with that on-line learning, and in those circumstances, getting on with someone who's trying to help solve 'issues' might be slightly more important than any real 'technical ability', if much of that is getting delivered by on-line resources anyway...

Good luck with your quest, and I'd be interested to hear how you both get on with this, as it's an issue that's likely to affect a lot of us.

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

Thank you. I'm not going to mention this to my daughter until she comes back with her research. Let's see what she turns up. She's a tenacious person so I wouldn't be surprised if she did find this out. If she misses it I'll copy your post and send her off on a mission and a "could do better" My bad

Take care

AiY

I am a long-serving senior school governor, have previously engaged a private mathematics tutor for my son, was previously taught by one myself, AND my best friend is head of maths in a secondary school.

My view is very clear: you need a maths teacher VERY familiar with current GCSE teaching and (ideally) used to teaching for the exam board under which your granddaughter will be assessed.

Well-meaning numerate friends or relatives would likely be a disaster, however well meaning.

As an aside, I have a PhD in economics (as well as BSc and MA) and when I tried to supplement my daughter's A-level economics teaching it really was an unmitigated disaster.

Use a maths teacher in current practice.

MDW1954