Are you having a bit of trouble when it comes to math? That’s nothing out of the ordinary. Mathematics is an inherently complex topic that requires a more specialised approach when tackling its myriad concepts. For the most part, your difficulty likely stems from the general teaching methodology that you’ve been exposed to since the beginning of your schooling.
This approach doesn’t place much emphasis on the foundational skills required to comprehend and solve mathematical problems, resulting in your current predicament.
If you’re keen on changing that today, here are three research-backed strategies to help improve your comprehension and overall grades.
Improve your metacognitive skills
Metacognition, defined simply, means “thinking about thinking”. A more descriptive definition is that it’s the ability of an individual to perceive their cognitive processes and reflect on them accordingly. These skills are a necessity to success not just in math but also in other subjects and beyond the classroom.
Enhancing your metacognition skills will allow you to think more profoundly about how you initially tackled a mathematical problem, assess your approach, and identify problems leading to your difficulty. Upon reflecting on these and other related matters, you can then begin to sharpen your comprehension and learn much more effectively.
Leverage manipulatives
Math can be rather too abstract at times, which is why transforming them into something more concrete can drastically improve your understanding and reasoning of such concepts. Manipulatives make this transformation a reality through the use of solid materials, such as blocks and tiles, to aid in either comprehending new concepts or recalling older ones.
These tools are often used effectively to teach students of all age levels about various math topics. When put to good use, the ease of understanding provided by manipulatives will allow you to break through current comprehension difficulties and gain a boost in confidence, which also helps reduce your math anxieties.
Although manipulatives don’t cover every mathematical concept taught at schools, they will serve well to help you learn by heart the foundations upon which these concepts rely on. Add on extra assistance such as Additional or IP maths tuition, depending on your level of study – and you are one step closer to better grades.
Explain what you’ve learned as simply as possible
After you’ve gained a semblance of understanding of a particular math concept, try to explain or teach it in the most simplified way possible to someone else. If you know someone in your friend group who’s a bit behind on understanding the subject, offer to assist them with their difficulty.
Doing so provides an excellent way to fully gauge if you’ve understood everything by heart or if you’ve only scratched the surface. When you encounter areas wherein you’re having trouble explaining clearly, note them down and review them extensively for later. Repeat the process until you’re truly confident of your understanding.
Conclusion
Getting better at math and improving your grades will always require effort, no matter which learning path you take. With the help of these tips and professional tutelage; be it through elementary or additional maths tuition in Singapore, you’re certain to achieve this goal much quicker than expected.
