Teachers' Site

TIPS ON TEACHING OF ADDITIONAL MATHEMATICS:

1.        Update your subject matter and pedagogical knowledge.

2.        Plan your lesson well.

3.        Always bear in mind that students need to apply new concepts learnt in answering questions.

“There is no point covering too many learning outcomes in one go without pausing to make sure that students can apply them to answer questions successfully. This is particularly important for students of average or below average ability.”

4.        Go down to students’ level of understanding. Students find it easier to understand when teacher can present in a simple, clear and systematic manner.

5.        Do not tell everything.

Elicit response from students by posing questions to develop their thinking skills and oral communication skill.

Pose guided questions to guide students to discover connections.

“The mediocre teacher tells.

The good teacher explains.

The superior teacher demonstrates.

The great teacher inspires.”

6.        Encourage students to ask questions. Do not be afraid of students asking questions.

7.        Give students opportunities to present their answers.

8.        Use ICT where appropriate.

Download pictures of real life examples of Add Maths concepts (Eg. Parabolas in real life) and prevent using PowerPoint. This helps students to see relevance of the topic in real life.

GSP is excellent for exploring quadratic function graphs, trigonometric graphs, coordinate geometry, sine rule, cosine rule and so on.

9.        Where possible, use students in your examples.

10.     Find out what problems students have with previous day’s homework and discuss them before moving on to new learning outcomes.

11.     Thorough checking of students’ steps the first three months of Form 4 is crucial in:

(a)    correcting common mistakes / misconceptions students make in algebraic operations.

(b)    ensuring that students write steps systematically.

12.     At the beginning of Form 4, revise basic algebra with students. Mastery of expansion and factorisation, algebraic fractions, algebraic formula, linear equations, simultaneous equations affects students’ performance in Additional Mathematics.

13.     Know the common mistakes that students are likely to make for each topic and highlight them while teaching the topic.

14.     Demand students’ attention when you want to explain something.

15.     Make your expectations clear to the students.

16.     Be consistent.

17.     Do what you say you are going to do if you want to be taken seriously by students. So think carefully before you say you will do something.

18.     Identify who the weak students are and who the good students are as early as possible.

19.     Help students set goals.

20.     Help students build up confidence.

21.     Do not give up on your students.

22.     Group work

Encourage students to discuss and compare their answers whether in pairs of groups of 4.

Project work – in groups.

23.     Expose students to some SPM type of questions at the end of each topic. Discuss technique of answers questions and let students know how marks are allocated and how to obtain maximum score.

24.     3 month before SPM

Do revision exercises with students

Identify students who may fail and students with potential to get A.

Divide students into 3 categories: Good, average, weak.

Select appropriate work for each category.

25.     A little humour now and then helps to create a more relaxed learning environment. One or two quiz questions and sing a math song once in a while.