Good Essay On Mathematics Tutoring Analysis

Tutoring Log

This was a class on 25th February 2015. It covered operations and algebraic thinking.

Objectives

Help the children solve simple algebraic problems, such as using addition and subtractions with numbers under 20 to solve word problems. Such word problems include situations that involve adding or taking away from.

In this session, the child was asked to solve the problem:

If you have 3 apples and mother added you 4, how many do you have?
Tutoring Log

Activities

June had a problem putting this into perspective. She just sat quietly wondering what this means. I had to present this on the board. I drew three apples and four other apples under that without drawing the plus sign.
I said she could count on her fingers, but she insisted on counting the apples. I guided her to draw the apples on her book. I said, “I will tell you and you draw,” and she agreed.
I said, “You have three apples.” She drew the three circles (apples) on her book. Then I said, “Then mother added you another four apples.” Again she drew this. “How many do you have now?”
She looked up at me and I pointed to the book, at the circles (the apples) and said, “You now have all these. How many are they?” She counted and said “Seven.” I nodded my head and gave her a congratulatory rub on the head.
The lesson made sure that the child had the opportunity to do the work on her own. After the first and second example, I gave another word problem and let her contemplate the problem. All I did was repeat the question so she understood. After a while, she started to put this to paper. She did not get it right at first, but soon she did.

Assignment

I have 2 books. If I buy 4 more, how many do I now have?
June counted 2, but hesitated before deciding what to do next. I kept repeating the question until she started to count the other 4. Again she hesitated before adding the two. But she finally did and got the answer right. “Six books,” she said with a smile on her face.

Reflection

I only acted as a facilitator and a guide for the children, providing explicit step-by-step instructions. In this regard, I introduced the mathematical concepts to the child, giving examples on the way. I also used a “hook” to grab the child’s attention. For example, I used the things she knew as prompts for the assignment (such as apples and books). After a few examples, I let her participate in working out the other examples. Finally, I assigned her a sum and let her work it out, offering guidance when they stuck.
I anticipated the children would make errors, including confusing between the addition (+) and subtraction (-) signs. I was understanding and supportive, taking time to show the child the difference(s). This is known as ‘operation sense’.
At first the child had a problem translating the word problem onto the book. However, with enough practice she finally got it.
June used means-end thinking strategy for problem-solving. This involved her figuring out where she was and how to get where she wanted to reach. For example, when asked to count 6, she counted step by step. She counted 2 sticks, checked if she had 6, and if not, counted more. She would repeat this process, counting and checking until she was done. This means that she still had a problem with ‘number sense’.