Tutoring GCSE Maths?

i wasn't sure where to ask about this, so i will try in here.

I've been asked by a friend of my parents to tutor their child in GCSE maths, and i don't know where i should begin, so i wanted any advice anyone might have

Do i need to know the syllabus, and where could i find that?

Reply 1

Morgan141

2

Personally I'd ask the child what areas they are particularly struggling in and then cover those in detail. The parents might be better off getting a qualified tutor though if he/she is really struggling.

Reply 2

Doji

17

ask him the awarding examination board, try to get the course number or something from any past papers he has, then just go onto their site and you can easily download it for free, google it. Most likely it will be either EdExcel www.edexcel.org.uk or OCR www.ocr.org.uk, if not then google is your friend.

Id suggest you to work off the syllabus, ask the student if he can do the topic, if he says yes, then give him some Q's from the book or past papers, and if he doesn't you know what to teach him.

Good Luck

Reply 3

Excalibur

15

First off check what syllabus the child is doing - then ask him to identify which parts he want to be gone over. You could perhaps use your old GCSE textbooks & revision guides to aid your teaching.

Reply 4

Democracy

20

My parents are private tutors. The first thing they do when a new student comes to study with them is to give he/she a test. This gives them a good idea of the child's weaknesses and strengths and also the current level they're working at.

Reply 5

Ancient Beast

2

> Download the syllabus from the examboard website. It'll most likely be either Edexcel, OCR or AQA .

> Tier level - foundation or higher tier?

> Any areas which the child isn't comfortable with... school work or homework he doesn't understand etc...

> Buy a decent textbook with excercises and stuff, although the child might have his own

> Download past papers off the AQA site for free, although I'm sure you'd be able to find some on TSR

Beast-man

> Download the syllabus from the examboard website. It'll most likely be either Edexcel, OCR or AQA .

> Tier level - foundation or higher tier?

> Any areas which the child isn't comfortable with... school work or homework he doesn't understand etc...

> Buy a decent textbook with excercises and stuff, although the child might have his own

> Download past papers off the AQA site for free, although I'm sure you'd be able to find some on TSR

The tier may also still be Intermediate, especially if the kid is in Year 11.

So if you find out the exam board it's important to know which specification the are doing. Most exam boards have more than one course, some linear (final exams) some modular. You'll also need to find out if it's part of the new 2-tier system or if they are still studying the old 3-tier courses (as a guide, if they are year 11, they might be doing the old 3-tier system, if they are in Year 10 they'll almost certainly be doing a two-tier course).

The rest of the advice in this thread is really good, so I have nothing else to add right now :biggrin:

Reply 7

Ancient Beast

2

Roger Kirk

The tier may also still be Intermediate, especially if the kid is in Year 11.

True, true.... ;yes;

So do some year 10's still do the intermediate tier?

Beast-man

True, true.... ;yes;

So do some year 10's still do the intermediate tier?

I doubt it, not if they started their GCSE this year.

But I guess it's technicaly possible. Like if they have been accelerate and started working towards their GCSE maths in Year 9 and will finish it in Year 10. But if they've been accelerated correctly, then there should most probably be no need for a private tutor...

Reply 9

potspansamy

10

I was asked to tutor in september and before the first session I asked:
What Exam Board?
What Tier?
Predicted Grade?
Working Grade?
For the first session I took along one of the intermediate specimen papers and we went through it and I made a note of any problems, also talked to them about any problems they felt they had.
Since then I have gone through things they have problems with and using a CPG? intermediate workbook.

Reply 10

marshmallow_mayhem

Maybe you should just give them questions on all the topics on the syllabus to begin with and see how they do so you can see which areas are difficult.

Then I'd go through their school notes and then the past papers..Keep setting them questions and marking them to make sure they understand. Work through the questions with them on topics they're struggling with.

Good luck. I wouldn't have the patience but it seems like you would..Hope you're getting paid decently!

Reply 11

James

14

Go through a couple of past papers with them, and take note of where they struggle. Most kids have problems with surds, circle theorems and trig, but these problems are almost always superficial and stem from a lack of understanding in the first place. You need to show them how to approach the questions, and explain WHY you do everything. Make sure the kid realises that maths can be fun. Most people hate it because it comes across as hard and tedious; try to motivate a better attitude.

Reply 12

vector

15

I tutor GCSE maths, as well as the sciences and as maths and chemistry. I usually go by past papers, then work on areas as they come up through the past papers.

Reply 13

marshmallows

1

At GCSE all you really need is LOTS of exam papers.

This is what my tutor did for me:

Got the recommended GCSE maths textbook (y'know the big one with the cog wheels all over it)...and went over it all....every single question.(I'm not joking)

And that's all that there is to it really.

Reply 14

jlshirtcliffe

Does anyone know of any sites where I can download OCR spec A past papers? I may have to buy them, after all.. There are a couple on the OCR site, but I'm looking for the past papers rather than the specimens.

Any help would be reallly brilliant!

James.

Reply 15

*Princess*

u cud try emailing OCR

Tutoring GCSE Maths?

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