How to tutor maths online?

🔑 Here are 5 key tips to tutor Maths online effectively

1. Have resources on hand
2. Utilize a collaborative online workspace
3. Focus on practice problems and identifying patterns
4. Use guided problem-solving while encouraging backchecking and self-verbalization
5. Provide feedback on organization and question layout

Maths has traditionally been taught in person due to its logical and pattern-based nature. PowerPoint presentations don’t work well for teaching Maths because it’s important to collaborate with students. However, with the right tools Maths is actually one of the best subjects to tutor online, and often warrants higher rates due to its’ difficulty. As a Maths tutor, you need to give your students lots of chances to practice solving problems while helping them with difficult concepts. In this blog post, we’ll look at ways to make your online Maths tutoring sessions better. We’ll talk about using AI to create practice problems, using shared workspaces, using pictures and diagrams, and communicating effectively. These strategies will help you create a fun and effective learning environment for your students

This guide is a part of our how to tutor series, make sure you check out our guides on how to tutor English and Science too

📚 Have resources on hand

Before you start tutoring Maths, ensure you have adequate resources and practice problems at hand. Sometimes your student’s school may provide past papers and other practice problems, but it’s best not to rely on this. Until recently, tutors had to create supplementary material themselves, usually in the form of worksheets. Now that’s all changed. AI technology such as ChatGPT can be leveraged to generate practice problems tailored to your student’s skill levels. By tailoring your prompts you can create customized problem sets for your students that align with their learning needs and progress

👨‍🏫 Utilize a collaborative online workspace

When it comes to tutoring Maths online, using a more interactive and dynamic platform is essential. While PowerPoint presentations work well for subjects like Biology, Maths requires a more interactive approach with a combination of numerical solutions and visual aids. Incorporating diagrams, graphs, and charts can effectively illustrate concepts and problem-solving strategies, especially for students who may struggle with purely symbolic or numerical approaches

To provide the best experience for your students, consider utilizing online collaborative workspaces that enable real-time collaboration, joint problem-solving, and resource sharing. If you already have the key skills required to be a great tutor, the added collaboration on these platforms can take your services to the next level

Kedyou is the perfect platform for this purpose. It provides free education-focused online workspaces for live teaching and group study. With Kedyou, you can work with your student step by step to solve problems, annotate around the problems, and include supporting diagrams. What sets Kedyou apart is its emphasis on simplicity and typeable Maths tools. This means that even students who don’t have access to tablets or drawing pads can engage on the same level using just a keyboard and mouse, promoting maximum collaboration. Additionally, you can export all the content together to create comprehensive study notes for your students to refer back to later

🎨 Focus on practice problems and identifying patterns

Maths is best learned through practice. This means most of your lessons should be focusing on collaborative problem-solving to help your students develop their critical thinking abilities. Unlike other subjects, it’s normal to not immediately know how to solve a Maths problem. The best students are those who can identify the next step, figure out where to go from there, and gradually build a path to the solution. Encourage your students to solve different types of practice questions to reinforce their understanding and improve their problem-solving skills. Highlight the significance of recognizing patterns in Maths and assist your students in making connections between different concepts. This will enable them to approach problem-solving more efficiently

🗣 Use guided problem-solving while encouraging back-checking and self-verbalization

To help your students with problem-solving, ask them to work through each step of a practice problem with you and encourage them to verbalize their thought processes. This approach allows them to gain a deeper understanding of the concepts and helps them identify any misconceptions or areas that need clarification. If a student gets stuck, provide guidance on the next step and explain why it will help them reach the solution. Then, encourage them to continue from there to strengthen their problem-solving skills

Another advantage of promoting self-verbalization is that it helps your students develop an inner voice. This prevents “radio silence” during exams and ensures they always have an ongoing thought process to apply to a problem

While solving problems line-by-line with your students, emphasize the importance of back-checking. After each line, encourage your students to re-check and ensure they have written what they intended. Developing this habit will save them a lot of time during exams as they will be confident that they haven’t made any minor mistakes by the time they reach the end of a lengthy question

👷‍♀️ Provide feedback on organization and question layout

Share tips and tricks with your students on how to set out Maths questions effectively. Show them the importance of clear and organized work, including properly labelling variables, showing intermediate steps, and providing concise explanations. Remind your students that the majority of marks in Maths come from the process, and usually the solution only counts for one mark. By instilling these habits, you ensure that your students secure maximum available process marks, and develop good mathematical practices that promote clarity and minimize errors for when they have to use Maths later on in life