Many children initially are very good at mathematics, especially in the early years when the focus is on addition, subtraction and other basic types of operations. However, sometimes what appears to be a complete understanding of a concept is not true understanding, but rather the rote memorization of basic facts.
Later, as children advance to more complex and abstract mathematical concepts and constructs, parents may find their child is struggling to complete their maths worksheets despite the child’s earlier success in the subject matter.
The child may seem to have limited ability to understand how to solve the problem or how to decide which operations are necessary to include in arriving at the solution. This is not uncommon and it is a sign there are significant gaps in the child’s understanding of the founding principles and operations.
The Problem with Classroom Instruction
Classroom instruction is often very impersonal for a child and teachers may not have a full understanding of where a child is experiencing difficulties with concepts. They may see the child working on maths worksheets and assume the challenge is with an understanding of the current concept, not in the reality of the lack of foundational understanding.
The classroom is also a face-paced learning environment that is full of distractions. It is geared to the typical child, not the individual child, which means that once a child falls behind it can be overwhelming to try to catch up.
Challenges with Parental Assistance
Many parents spend hours with their children working on maths worksheets, trying to explain the problem and the way to arrive at the correct answer. However, parents are not trained to spot areas where the child is missing the basics, so they may easily become frustrated with what seems to be a lack of progress.
Parents can provide help to their children in the form of personalized and individualized tutoring opportunities. These don’t have to be with live tutors; there are some amazingly advanced online tutoring solutions that are fun, interactive and very engaging for children of all ages.
These systems are designed to be self-guiding, starting with the use of highly advanced algorithms and software programs that assess learning gaps and create a personalized plan for each student.
With regular tests, practice questions, hints and immediate feedback these systems are very comfortable for the children to use and parents can also be kept informed of the child’s progress through the system. Convenient, always available and fun for the children, this type of online tutoring is a perfect option for children struggling in maths, sciences and other subjects.
