Joshua Thompson

In my experience, many students do not gain a full understanding of many topics within mathematics from the explanations of their school teachers. This can be frustrating and make many tasks seem daunting. My teaching style consists of the following approach:

1. Understanding of the topic
One on one teaching and verbal explanations with back and forth questioning can be key to a student’s initial comprehension of a topic. The aim is to approach the point at which the student can explain the topic themselves, as if teaching someone else how it works.

2. Examples
Giving examples of how the topic works, with all of its intricacies. I often find that many broad topics can be made easier to understand with extreme examples: What does this example look like where x = and so on. Most topics in maths are easier to understand when considering the context behind them.

3. Practice
Once a concept has been understood, it can be applied independently. Practicing requires first a mastery of simplistic implementation followed by a steady increase in difficulty until the student demonstrates the ability to tackle the hardest possible scenario within a topic. If the most difficult question within a topic is doable, then anything in an exam is doable.

4. Verification
Almost everything in maths is inherently verifiable. It is often possible to check answers beyond a reasonable doubt, and learning this underrated skill can be highly rewarding in exams.

Additionally, I like to provide tips which helped me achieve high marks in my exams which schools neglected to mention, such as specialising in speed and verification. Modern calculators can also go a long way to helping students succeed if they understand the capabilities.

Anyone can succeed in maths, they just require the right approach.

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