Mathematics lesson survey. (1 Viewer)

[Carrotsticks]

How long do you generally prefer your Mathematics lessons to be, such that there is a fine balance between content absorbed and the amount of content covered?

Too long -> Lots covered, but not all of it absorbed

Too short -> Not much covered, but maximised concentration period

Will this change for different subjects ie: Advanced versus MX1 versus MX2?

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How many people do you feel comfortable having a class session with at most, such that there is a fine balance between the number of people benefiting, and the amount of attention each student gets?

Too many people -> More people can learn, but struggling students feel less inclined to ask questions.

Too few people -> Fewer people able to benefit from teaching, but each person gets more individual attention.

Also, if you are aware of the approximate numbers, could you give a rough estimation of the class size is of various tutoring places? I'm curious to see how many they fit in a class and what students think of it.

Your feedback will be very much appreciated! =)

 

[Sy123]

What time period is considered short or long?

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In my opinion about 90% of the learning done is by the student. It is the student's choice to listen throughout the whole lesson, if they can't keep up the whole time and fail to ask questions then that is their fault and no amount of babysitting will fix that until a student learns to concentrate.

So in my opinion longer lessons are better.

 

[Carrotsticks]

What time period is considered short or long?

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In my opinion about 90% of the learning done is by the student. It is the student's choice to listen throughout the whole lesson, if they can't keep up the whole time and fail to ask questions then that is their fault and no amount of babysitting will fix that until a student learns to concentrate.

So in my opinion longer lessons are better.

This is, of course, assuming that the teacher is actually competent at explaining concepts to facilitate the process of 'keeping up'.

Though obviously you can't expect a student to be able to concentrate and learn new concepts for 6 hours straight.

Usual lengths range from 2 hours per week to 3 hours per week.

 

[Sy123]

This is, of course, assuming that the teacher is actually competent at explaining concepts to facilitate the process of 'keeping up'.

Though obviously you can't expect a student to be able to concentrate and learn new concepts for 6 hours straight.

Usual lengths range from 2 hours per week to 3 hours per week.

Woah, I thought 3 hours was long heh, I haven't gone tutoring before so my views are probably not that important to you.

I think 3-4 (maybe 5) hours straight per week would be optimum for me, but yeah my views should be taken with a grain of salt.

 

[RivalryofTroll]

I prefer shorter content (I can handle both longer and shorter though) and more time spent on doing questions during class (i.e. teacher goes through different approaches to different type of questions and all).

And this applies to all level of Mathematics really.

Longer content lessons should only occur if the planned schedule is behind.

Class sizes should be under 10 for optimal performance in my honest opinion.

My own tutor (TIPPS) class is around 20ish kids.

Ngo & Sons can have from anywhere between 20 to 40 from what I know/hear (yes, 40+ people-class actually happens at Truongs and people still go there. In fact, it's probably the most popular place in the Fairfield region).

Talent100 usually has around 7 to 8 kids per class. Matrix is 10ish?

 

[SpiralFlex]

I think the traditional period is 2 hrs for 3U and 3 hrs for 4U with 5-10 minute breaks. I like 15-20 people in a class, seems stimulating. I enjoy most of the lessons to be in-depth theory but would love to have some time (just a bit) to think about it and practice newly found knowledge on a challenge question.

 

[RivalryofTroll]

I think the traditional period is 2 hrs for 3U and 3 hrs for 4U with 5-10 minute breaks. I like 15-20 people in a class, seems stimulating. I enjoy most of the lessons to be in-depth theory but would love to have some time (just a bit) to think about it and practice newly found knowledge on a challenge question.

My tutoring place does 2 hrs for both 3U and 4U.

but yeah, 4U could be longer.

 

[Peeik]

Imo, classes (2u,3u,4u) shouldnt be more than 2 hours in length. But if you decide to have 3hours for 4U then you must have a mini break in there.

The optimal number of students in a tutoring class is 10 and the class should be shaped in a horse shoe. If you have more than 10 students in your class, then I think it's wiser to break it into two smaller classes rather than having a class of 20.

Depending on the level of mathematics and topic, students should have at least 1-1.5 hour of doing questions and/or shown how to do questions. The more time the students have to do questions by themselves, the better because that's mostly where the learning takes place.

 

[starshine02]

I think 2 hours should be long enough for a class. Personally I've always thought 3 hours was a bit draining and I didn't concentrate towards the end anyways.

I think classes should have between 5-15 students so that there isn't too few students but also not too many.

 

[4025808]

2 hours is the best duration imo. 3 hours is too much and you don't really learn much after the 2nd hour. :S

At best I'd say 5 ppl maximum, at most. I had 7 in a class and I hated it T_T

 

[RealiseNothing]

Imo, classes (2u,3u,4u) shouldnt be more than 2 hours in length. But if you decide to have 3hours for 4U then you must have a mini break in there.

The optimal number of students in a tutoring class is 10 and the class should be shaped in a horse shoe. If you have more than 10 students in your class, then I think it's wiser to break it into two smaller classes rather than having a class of 20.

Depending on the level of mathematics and topic, students should have at least 1-1.5 hour of doing questions and/or shown how to do questions. The more time the students have to do questions by themselves, the better because that's mostly where the learning takes place.

@UYSD

you might want to fix that

 

[Peeik]

@UYSD

you might want to fix that

WOW....I had that sig for like a year and nobody noticed! A keen eye you have there Realise

 

[eileend]

for most of the tutoring classes i went to they were usually around 3 hrs with a 10 min break in the middle (to eat stuff, socialize, have a break from learning etc.)

and i think classes should be around 10-15 people..

 

[Carrotsticks]

Personally, I've always enjoyed teaching larger classes because you have a larger mix of students, and they tend to socialise a bit (which is good to an extent).

I would rather have a slightly naughty class (tends to happen with larger classes) than a 100% perfect strict class (tends to happen with smaller classes), because they are more fun to teach. Also, slightly more social classes are better IMO because it has a more relaxed environment, and students are more keen to ask questions.

My most fun class ever was my 4U class last year, which had about 15 people. They were serious when they needed to be, but they were fun when they needed to be as well.

 

[seanieg89]

Mathematical jokes are mandatory.

 

[kazemagic]

Personally, I've always enjoyed teaching larger classes because you have a larger mix of students, and they tend to socialise a bit (which is good to an extent).

I would rather have a slightly naughty class (tends to happen with larger classes) than a 100% perfect strict class (tends to happen with smaller classes), because they are more fun to teach. Also, slightly more social classes are better IMO because it has a more relaxed environment, and students are more keen to ask questions.

My most fun class ever was my 4U class last year, which had about 15 people. They were serious when they needed to be, but they were fun when they needed to be as well.

yes this.
its sooo much better to have a class that socialise. once people start to socialise, people start to compete (hopefully a healthy and fair competition) and competition is motivation . I recon a class should be max 10 people, anything more than that I think theres a higher chance people would just form their own social groups and stick to it hence isolating some ppl making them 4eva alone cos the isolators be scared of approaching larger groups and wont socialise with them, hence the isolators prob wont even try to compete

just my thoughts lol, probs arent even valid :/

 

[seanieg89]

yes this.
its sooo much better to have a class that socialise. once people start to socialise, people start to compete (hopefully a healthy and fair competition) and competition is motivation . I recon a class should be max 10 people, anything more than that I think theres a higher chance people would just form their own social groups and stick to it hence isolating some ppl making them 4eva alone cos the isolators be scared of approaching larger groups and wont socialise with them, hence the isolators prob wont even try to compete

just my thoughts lol, probs arent even valid :/

Definitely valid. I didn't go to tutoring, but competition with a mate was a large driving factor in high school maths.

 

[RivalryofTroll]

Jokes (any) are mandatory.

Fixed.