Learning Math

Posted on June 5, 2011 by gf

Students begin learning math in the first grade, but to find success in math throughout their academic career, beginning in first grade and continuing throughout their entire academic career, they must make sure they master basic foundational math skills.  Math is a subject where the more advanced math concepts become very difficult if the students have not mastered these basic fundamental skills.

Math, like a lot of other subjects, has its own vocabulary.  As students progress through each math class, they learn more and more math words.  By third grade these vocabulary words are used in the directions for the “how-to’s” of the concepts the students are learning.  If they have not mastered the meanings of the math vocabulary words, the students success in math becomes an uphill struggle.  For the vast majority of students learning math, the issue for the student should not be “I can’t do this”, but “How can I do this?”.  Therefore making sure the kids thoroughly understand the vocabulary words as they go through the math courses will keep the “math hill” from being so steep.

In elementary school the students are given Measurement Charts to memorize.  These charts, one for English Measures and one for Metric Measures, show the measures for capacity, length, and mass.  The English Measures Chart includes the measures for time.  The students must memorize these charts so they will be able to perform conversion problems.

Understanding and being able to use the foundational math concepts of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division are critical to the students ability to understand and perform the steps in the more advanced math courses.  Knowing the multiplication tables through twelve is important.  These basic concepts are used in all the higher math concepts to solve the problems.

In elementary school and junior high school students are given some foundational “tools” to help in problem solving.  The first problem solving tool is the Order of Operations (Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication and Division, Addition and Subtraction).  They learn to solve a multi-concept problem, 3^2 – 2^3 x 5 / 8 + 2 x (3+5), by performing each concept in the order listed above.  The next “tools” are the Four Principles of Math (Commutative, Associative, Distributive, and Identity).  These four tools are very helpful in problem solving especially when variables are involved.

Math is not the favorite subject of a majority of students, but steps can be taken by the student to be successful in the subject.  Learning math and becoming proficient in some basic foundational  skills:  math vocabulary, Measurement Charts, basic math concepts (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division), using basic problem solving tools (Order of Operations, Four Math Principles), can go a long way towards making students a success in math.

The Free Online Math Tutor website has additional information that you might find helpful.

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Online Math Help

Posted on March 18, 2011 by gf

One of the most difficult subjects for students is math.  Math is traditionally hard for students that have a “right brain,” meaning that they are more talented at things like art and things that require creativity and spontaneity.  When your child is struggling in math, it can become a much bigger problem than just a bad grade.  When a student struggles in a class it begins with a bad score on an assignment, eventually progressing to bad test scores, and if not corrected can turn in to risk of the student being held back an entire year due to bad grades in math.  This is not a situation that would be good for either you or your child, so it makes sense to get as much help as it takes to get your student to succeed.  There are many different choices for tutors, but one of the best options that you have could be online math help.

Math help and tutoring has improved the grades and more importantly, understanding of thousands of young students.  Online courses and tutoring can both be great options for your child, as they make studying and improving grades convenient.  Your student can log on to the Internet at any time he or she pleases and get the math help that they need and deserve.  Another benefit of taking math courses online is that any questions that your child has can be instantly answered by someone that knows what they are talking about.   Sometimes it can be difficult to have a personal tutor because he or she may not have immediate answers, unless you hire a certified teacher, which can get very expensive.

There are many sources for math help.  Many sites actually offer free online walk-throughs for math problems and can help you get some basics down.  However, if you are looking for a more in-depth experience, you will most likely have to sign up for paid online math tutoring.  This type of math help is actually quite affordable and almost always cheaper than hiring a private tutor.  Do a little research and find the best site for online math help for your child.  Make sure you read any reviews that are available as you can get good information about the site and how it operates, as well as how effective the teaching is.  After you do your research about the sites your child can start his or her path to a more successful experience in math.

The Free Online Math Tutor website has additional information that you might find helpful.

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Free Online Math Tutor

Posted on February 18, 2011 by gf

Schooling is one of the most difficult things that a child will go through in their early years.  There is not only the pressure of doing well and getting good grades, but also the stresses that are added by the other children around them.  Being a kid is not easy, especially when you don’t understand what is being taught in school, and are too embarrassed to ask the teacher because of fear of ridicule from the other kids in the class.  One way to help booster a child’s grades and give him or her the self-confidence that they will need to get through school is hiring a math tutor to help with the students ever increasing workload.  If you search on the Internet you might be surprised to find free online math tutor resources.

Math is traditionally one of the most difficult subjects for a student to learn, especially if they are not math oriented.  This can become a problem as their grades fall, assignments get missed, and they eventually have the misfortune of being held back.  This is not a situation that any child wants to go through.  Providing math tutoring help for your child will start by improving their assignment scores.  This will then carry over to test scores as they become more comfortable with the material, and will finally lead to self-confidence in school because of repeated good performances on both the assignments and exams.

If your child is struggling in school and you think a math tutor will be able to help, you will want to do some research and find the best tutor available.  There are many different teaching styles so you will have to try to find a tutor that can teach on the same level as your child and present the information in a way that makes sense.  As you look for a math tutor you should ask them about the qualifications that they have.  Did they go to college?  Did they graduate with some type of degree?  Do they have any teaching experience?  These are all great questions that you should ask the potential tutors before they start teaching your child.  You should also search for free online math tutor resources on the Internet.  You will find, free math courses, free math worksheets, free problem solving help, free math games, and a lot more.

Finding a tutor may not be easy.  You may think that hiring someone in your neighborhood that got a good grade in math is a good idea, but you should really try to find someone that has teaching experience.  There are actually professional services that can help you find a math tutor.  These businesses find tutors in your area and ensure that they have proper qualifications and then make a recommendation based on your child’s needs.  You can get in touch with these tutor service companies by doing a search online.

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