As exam time approaches, one subject causes more than its fair share of headaches in classrooms across the world: maths.
You can construct the perfect essay about a Shakespeare play, memorise the things people did centuries ago and speak eloquently in French, German or Spanish – yet find yourself in a cold sweat at the mere mention of the word ‘algebra’.
So, what is it that makes maths such a tough nut to crack?
Ellen-Kate Horton, Nkenge Warren-Swan, Alex Lugo and Daniel Hill, who have decades of teaching experiencing in Bermuda, are now master tutors at the Adult Education School. They shared insight into why so many young people find maths difficult – and offered tips on how to crack it.
Ms Horton said: “Many children can read and understand, but with maths, they see numbers and they freak out.
“What they need is a loving teacher, a patient teacher and one who can assure them they are capable. I believe everyone can do maths, if they give themselves a chance.
“I remember going into a middle school, and the children said to me, ‘We can’t do maths.’
“I told them, ‘We are going to do it, and we will do maths at lunch if we need to do.’ We worked at it, and eventually they realised, ‘Hey, I’m capable.’”
Much of it is down to confidence – but there are ways of improving that.
Ms Horton said: “I find that if you don’t know your tables, it’s so much harder. But if people learn their tables, right away they feel better of themselves. And then they are willing to try other things.”
Mr Lugo said: “Maths has been the subject most of my students needed help with, for many years.
“Unlike some school subjects, it requires more than just memorisation and regurgitation.
“In the spoken language, information must be organised and utilised to achieve goals of communication. In maths, information must be logically and coherently applied to step-by-step procedures to achieve a solution.”
Ms Warren-Swan said many learners fear being judged and are embarrassed if they give the wrong answer.
She tries to build self-esteem by letting learners start at their comfort level and telling them it is OK to ‘fail forward’ – they will learn from the answers that were not correct on the first attempt.
Mr Hill said many people find maths difficult in their late teens because they never grasped it properly earlier in their school lives.
He said: “Many concepts are taught in primary school, and students did not fully understand them, so life and years move on, and they still don’t understand them. There are many loopholes that were never mastered.”
Top maths tips
Ellen-Kate Horton
Find quick ways of learning your tables.
For example, the 9 times table. Everything adds up to 9, and the numbers go up on one side and down on the other.
When some people learn this, they say ‘Wow’. That’s the key – get them to understand tables, and their confidence will go up.
Alex Lugo
Relate concepts to everyday experience and situations.
Be aware of the usefulness of connecting relationships, such as if 6+4=10, then 6=10–4. And if 4×6=24, then 6=24/4.
Once they see these connections, it is less difficult to grasp more complicated equations.
Nkenge Warren-Swan
Practise the 30-second scan for your maths test.
1) Before solving, skim the whole test.
2) Start with the easiest problems to build momentum.
3) Mark harder ones and return later.
4) Protect your confidence and your time.
Daniel Hill
Start students where they can perform capably with confidence.
They will be open for new concepts after being successful with one goal at a time.
Whatever it takes, make sure that tables are correct.
