Insights from the Jersey City Instruction Team

May 21, 2020 | Jersey City

We recently conducted a lightning round with our instructors to garner their thoughts on "Mathnaisum@Home" and remote learning in general. Here is some of what they said.

 

“Quick Commute to Your Computer”

Both our instructors and our students find this a big benefit of online instruction. No challenges with long commutes to the center. “I like that there’s no long commute to the center and some of the kids have mentioned that too.  Just find your computer and get online.”

 

“Kids Readily Adapt to the Technology”

While there can be a few technical issues around Internet connectivity and devices, those were readily addressed early on. The kids are used to online training at school. “Their whole lives have been in technology. They are very receptive to the change.”

 

“Computer Adds to the Learning Environment”

There are a wide array of tools online that can be readily used to support our training. This, in turn, can lead to a greater understanding of the material. “When measuring angles, we pulled up an online protractor and the student learned in a new way.”

 

“This is a Dedicated Special Time Online While Staying at Home”

With students doing everything from home and as a result isolated from their friends and outside activities, getting online with our instructors can be a real treat. It’s one-on-one with every bit of attention on the student while implementing their Mathnasium program. “We’ve found them eager to get to work.”

 

“Mathnasium Tutoring Works Great Online.”

Right now our online experience is one-to-one while we ramp up our efforts. That makes it easier to build student-instructor relationships online. That is also one more aspect of their ready attention to something outside the isolation of their home. “Students are already comfortable because they are at home and sometimes in PJs!”

 

“Teaching Takes on a New Perspective”

Young ages need to recite things out loud, it works well for that age. Older youth need to write out work and you can see that online. Some don’t want to write it out, but this requires it. “Online diagrams can be very helpful in the teaching process.”

 

“Do You Need Some Time? Do You Need a Hint or Help?”

Working screen-to-screen rather than face-to-face presents challenges in picking up on nonverbal cues. For example, are they thinking about the problem or struggling? We’ve found it’s best to ask and prompt a response. “Sending smiley faces, question marks, or even a cartoon can foster more open discussion.”

 

“Rewards Often Motivate Our Students to Work Harder”

In the center we have a system that rewards progress with punched cards for good work. That’s not quite possible online. But we have found that taking the last few minutes of the class, when students attention levels are flagging, and rewarding them with an online game experience is quite helpful. “Fun math games, battleship, or even special problems are great rewards for our students.”

 

“I Miss Spending Time at the Center”

I noted in my earlier blog post a big part of our Mathnasium learning experience is having a physical place to go and work really hard for an hour and get it done.  Like the gym. Not much we can do about this one. But something to bear in mind as restrictions are eased. 

 

Benefits and Challenges — Building Success

As with any new effort, there are challenges to overcome. We’ve found that we are making great progress to take advantage of the benefits as we overcome the challenges.

 

In short, we’ve adapted and made several breakthroughs in meeting the needs of the situation as well as continuing to build our student’s math skills. If you’re not yet engaged with our Mathnasium@Home program we encourage you to get started.

 

What’s Next?

 

Schedule an Appointment and set up a free trial.  If your child has been with us before, we’ll even be able to pull up their own Mathnasium curriculum.  

 

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