GCSE Maths help

Thomas_Holding

I have an A in GCSE maths but it was some time ago.
I am going to help my 13 year old niece improve her maths but I don't she will pass GCSE maths unless her foundation improves.
In an ideal world her father would have the money to pay a professional but he doesn't.

Any advice?  
I was planning to 
a) Iook at her work for the week and go through it
b) set her some extra practice questions
Any idea where to get b from?

strawb_shortcake

Thomas_Holding said:

I have an A in GCSE maths but it was some time ago.
I am going to help my 13 year old niece improve her maths but I don't she will pass GCSE maths unless her foundation improves.
In an ideal world her father would have the money to pay a professional but he doesn't.

Any advice?  
I was planning to 
a) Iook at her work for the week and go through it
b) set her some extra practice questions
Any idea where to get b from?

You need to know what exam board her school will be using, but her teachers should be able to provide past papers. 
We always bought the exam board workbooks for our children which were really useful. You just need to make sure it's the right level and exam board. 

But perhaps at this stage if it's building foundation then she may need you  to explain the terminology and help her understand the principles behind the question.

*not a maths person 

Savvy_Sue

BBC Bitesize has useful stuff on at all levels. But the 'problem' is that the way Maths is taught these days is very different to the way I was taught it, so you may struggle to understand what she's been taught to do. 

It's possibly worth starting by looking at her work from - say - a couple of years back, and seeing if you can identify what she was struggling with then, and strengthen those foundations. It's possible she's just struggling with confidence and has convinced herself she can't do Maths. Actually it's also possible she's dyscalculic - which might need a different approach! 

LightFlare

One hurdle you may encounter, is having obtained an A yourself, you either have a natural ability and/or a good understanding of the various facets.

That won’t necessarily translate into being able tutor someone who struggles with these as you won’t always have the ability to break down concepts and explain in different ways.

As suggested, find out which board it is and there’s plenty of books around - also some good stuff on YT

Voyager2002

I second BBC bitesize, which is consistent with current teaching methods. I suggest that you:
(i) look at her work from a couple of years ago and identify problem areas;
(ii) find videos that cover these topics;
(iii) work with her on these videos/explanations and do some work with her related to them.

Thomas_Holding

LightFlare said:

One hurdle you may encounter, is having obtained an A yourself, you either have a natural ability and/or a good understanding of the various facets.

That won’t necessarily translate into being able tutor someone who struggles with these as you won’t always have the ability to break down concepts and explain in different ways.

As suggested, find out which board it is and there’s plenty of books around - also some good stuff on YT

I wasn't that good I got a D first time because I messed up my coursework but the first time I was allowed to enter the higher level I got an A - which upset my teacher as he had said I wasn't good enough.
(I don't understand why everyone can't just have the option to get top grades the first time)

Thomas_Holding

Savvy_Sue said:

BBC Bitesize has useful stuff on at all levels. But the 'problem' is that the way Maths is taught these days is very different to the way I was taught it, so you may struggle to understand what she's been taught to do. 

It's possibly worth starting by looking at her work from - say - a couple of years back, and seeing if you can identify what she was struggling with then, and strengthen those foundations. It's possible she's just struggling with confidence and has convinced herself she can't do Maths. Actually it's also possible she's dyscalculic - which might need a different approach! 

Good point she moved around a lot and studied in different countries which didn't help.

Auti

As she has studied in different countries and moved a lot (can relate) go back to basics (say it is refresher for both of you). It is likely that in moving she has covered the same bit twice and missed out a bit - happened to me as school taught in different order. Once you are sure she is confident in basic mental maths, times tables, and basic maths +, -, /, x, decimals, fractions, basic algebra, shapes (area, perimeter, angles etc), solving word problems  and so on then move on to expanding knowledge and catching up with current school work (maths I have listed are all taught in primary to a high level).

Kahn Academy online is good and if you google there are several good maths sites to use that make it FUN to learn. Prodigy is good - comes recommended by my child as does Kahn Academy, Mathsframe, Times table Rockstars, BBC bitesize for explanations/how to  - there are others but the best way is to make it fun and rewarding (for both of you). 

I worked in primary and still volunteer so up to current methods  

Hope this helps 

SiliconChip

If she's doing AQA then I recommend buying this, which contains the bulk of the syllabus and some questions, with links to many more (other boards may well have something similar).

https://www.amazon.co.uk/GCSE-Maths-Complete-Revision-Practice/ 

I studied GCSE Maths a couple of years ago, having previously obtained a GCE in 1974 (and A-level in 1978 after failing it the first time), which I was allowed to do free as Birmingham City Council didn't charge anyone who didn't have a GCSE already. As part of the course they gave each candidate a copy of the book, which I found very useful. The whole thing must have worked as I got a grade 9, the highest I've ever achieved in any exam.

I would echo what @Savvy_Sue says, it took me a while to get to grips with how maths is taught now and the terminology used, and if you don't understand it then it'll be difficult to help someone else understand.

Savvy_Sue

I'm going to stress the aspect of confidence and self-belief. There's been a lot of evidence to suggest that once we absorb the message "I can't do maths / I'm no good at maths / I don't understand maths" then a key to success is breaking that mindset. 

I had it myself at school, but it helped once I realised that I knew what to do, just failed to get the right answer quite a lot of the time! I still wouldn't say I was 'good' at maths, but I have managed to act as treasurer / bookkeeper and get the right answers (usually with the help of an Excel spreadsheet, but you have to understand what you're asking the spreadsheet to do!)

Savvy_Sue

Thomas_Holding said:

LightFlare said:

One hurdle you may encounter, is having obtained an A yourself, you either have a natural ability and/or a good understanding of the various facets.

That won’t necessarily translate into being able tutor someone who struggles with these as you won’t always have the ability to break down concepts and explain in different ways.

As suggested, find out which board it is and there’s plenty of books around - also some good stuff on YT

I wasn't that good I got a D first time because I messed up my coursework but the first time I was allowed to enter the higher level I got an A - which upset my teacher as he had said I wasn't good enough.
(I don't understand why everyone can't just have the option to get top grades the first time)

We encountered that issue with DS3, who found himself unable to apply himself to anything he didn't care about. There was a serious risk of a very able student 'failing' English Language so we were sent home for Easter with a few previous papers at both Foundation and Higher level. If he did a couple of each, school would decide which level he should be entered for. 

I think what it boils down to is not wanting less able students to 'fail', but when the highest grade you could get on Foundation was a C, that worried me. I looked at the schemes, and pointed out to DS3 that if he took a Foundation paper, he'd have to get something like 85% to get that C, whereas if he took Higher, he'd only have to get 60%. OK, the Higher paper might be more difficult (actually I wasn't sure how much harder it was!) but getting the C grade should be easier. 

He dutifully did a couple of Higher papers over the holidays and proved he was capable - he'd just have to write some answers during the bl**dy exam instead of daydreaming and switching off! And I had reminded him that until he got that C, he'd be re-taking English Language in the 6th form! 

I don't know if the current system still has Foundation and Higher papers.