Insights from a Mathnasium of Littleton Instructor

1. What is the most common thing you see in new students coming to Mathnasium for the first time?

A: Reyna (instructor at Mathnasium for 7 years): The most common thing I see with new students is them disliking math and not wanting to come to Mathnasium. By the end of their first session however, they seem to have a complete 180 degree change in attitude.

Zach (instructor at Mathnasium for 8 years): For new students coming in for the first time, the most common things I see are frustration and exhaustion with math and a wanting to do anything except for math.

2. If there was one thing you could tell parents before they bring their student to Mathnasium what would it be?

A: Reyna: If I could tell parents one thing, it would be to have patience with their children. Many parents have their children overscheduled with sports and other tutoring classes, and then they bring them to Mathnasium with the expectation of having them reach “grade level” in a very short amount of time. This is an unrealistic expectation, especially with students only coming to Mathnasium 2-3 times a week, so if I could talk to parents before they bring their children to Mathnasium, I would tell them to have patience with their children and realize that it’s going to take time for their children to get better at math, especially with all the other things going on in their lives.

Zach: If there was one thing I could tell parents before bringing their students to Mathnasium, I would let them know that we make math more fun and rewarding than any other system that teaches math.

3. What things do the most successful students have in common?

A: Ethan (instructor at Mathnasium for 3 years): The main thing that I notice with successful students is that they have a healthy balance of confidence, as well as, attention to detail. Some students fall on one extreme of lacking attention to detail and just breeze through their pages without much care, but there are also some students who are too afraid to make mistakes and end up being overly cautious. Mathnasium is effective because it fosters the ideal balance by encouraging accuracy while also recognizing that mistakes are how people learn (and communicating that fact to the students).

Zach: The most successful students are independent but also ask for help when necessary. Those who are able to work on math by themselves but know when to ask for help are the students that grow the most and achieve the most progress.

Suzie (Center Director of Mathnasium for 9 years): The most successful students are those who attend regularly 2-3 times per week and make Mathnasium a priority in their schedule along with their sports and other activities.

4. What are some of the ways you teach math to your students?

A: Zach: Some of the ways I teach math to my students are through using visuals that are drawn out based upon the topic the student is learning. I also use manipulatives such as counting blocks, chips, fractions bars, number lines and more for the students who need to use tactical objects to understand a problem. We also use explanations and verbal teaching to help a student understand a new topic or a new section of a topic.

5. What do you think is the coolest thing about Mathnasium?

A: Ethan: My favorite part about Mathnasium is the emphasis on the Socratic method of teaching. The method involves asking questions to the students in order to help them arrive at the answer on their own. This is so powerful because it not only teaches the students what to do to solve the problem, but it also engages their brain in the way that they will need when solving the problem on their own. It also teaches students to be independent thinkers who are able to arrive at conclusions on their own and with greater confidence. I am sure that classroom teachers would love to use this method more, however, it can be hard when you are not working one-on-one with the students. At Mathnasium, our one-on-one instruction means that it is always possible to utilize Socratic questioning.

Reyna: The coolest thing about Mathnasium for me is getting to work with the students and watch them grow and gain more confidence in math and in life.

Zach: I think the coolest thing about Mathnasium is the community of students and instructors. Most of the students who come here either formerly struggled with or currently struggle with math, and all the instructors who work here love math and teach in order to share their love with these students.