Tuition is a billion-dollar industry in Singapore, and it continues to grow rapidly every year. In 2018 alone, Singaporean households spent a whopping $1.4 billion on tuition, and a 2015 survey found that 7 in 10 Singaporean parents send their children to some form of private tuition classes outside of school.

Given the increasing prevalence of tuition across all schools and levels in Singapore, you may be wondering whether it would be wise to sign your children up as well. Extra help in certain subjects, especially maths, can be very helpful for many students. But how do you know whether your child needs maths tuition?

Here, we have provided a list of things to look out for to determine whether maths tuition will be useful for your child.

They are falling behind in school

This is undoubtedly the top reason parents in Singapore send their children to tuition classes, and arguably the most important. Despite their best efforts, many students struggle to understand and apply key concepts that they learn in school, causing their grades to slip. This can be extremely demoralising for the vast majority of students, and in turn, they may also lose their motivation to study hard.

Sending your child to maths tuition can help them identify their own individual weaknesses, and allow them to practice topics and concepts that they have yet to master. A good tutor will be able to help your child come up with effective study strategies to address the gaps in their knowledge, allowing them to systematically attack and eliminate their weaknesses in maths.

Many students also find that maths tuition is extremely useful in clarifying any doubts they may have in class, strengthening their understanding of the topic and allowing them to progress further in their learning. It is not uncommon to see an improvement in students’ maths grades after starting tuition classes!

They are barely getting by in the subject

On the other hand, if your child is consistently passing their maths exams but cannot seem to score well, it may also be worth considering maths tuition to give them some structured practice outside of class. Not being able to improve their marks may suggest that your child understands the topics and the methods used, but has trouble applying them to more difficult questions.

In such cases, a tutor can help them develop analysis and interpretation skills to tackle these difficult questions, such as breaking down the problem into parts and identifying the appropriate method to use. In this way, students will gain some much-needed exposure to all types of problems, and will no longer be stumped by unfamiliar questions.

They are not confident about their abilities in maths

If your child seems to think badly of their own performance, it may be time to seek help from a tutor. Many students lack confidence and believe that their maths skills are not up to scratch, often due to past bad performance in the subject. This mental block can be a huge obstacle to students’ improvement, as they gradually lose their interest in the subject and their drive to do well. If these beliefs and low self-esteem are not rectified, this may have negative consequences on their performance in school.

One way in which maths tuition can help to raise your child’s confidence in their own skills is by teaching them effective ways to deal with failure and their own expectations. Rather than looking down on themselves for failing a test or exam and feeling dejected, a tutor can help your child reshape their outlook and identify why exactly they failed, as well as come up with a plan to do better in the future. This extra push is often all that is needed to see an improvement in students’ maths performance.

They lack discipline to study for exams

It can be a frustrating situation to know that your child is capable of doing well, but simply does not have the discipline to hunker down and study. If your child is constantly distracted and is not learning anything in school as a result, you may want to consider hiring a private tutor for some one-on-one coaching.

A good private tutor will be able to calm even the most boisterous of children, and encourage them to focus on their studies. In many cases, removing your child from the chaos of a classroom setting may be just the thing they need to develop discipline and a stronger attention span. Our team of private tutors are always ready to adapt their teaching methods to your child’s individual learning style, ensuring that they will get as much out of their tuition sessions as possible.

They do better with smaller class sizes

Although students do most of their learning in a classroom setting, it is often difficult for teachers to give every student the attention they need. The pace of teaching must accommodate all students, and your child may find that concepts are being taught too fast or too slowly. Additionally, depending on the size of their class in school, it may not be possible for your child to receive personalised feedback on their learning.

Tuition classes feature a different learning experience, by limiting class sizes and offering one-on-one coaching. At MLGS, our group coaching sessions are strictly kept to 6 students each, allowing your child to receive added attention to aid their learning. If they need more specialised lessons, we also offer private coaching that is slightly below prevailing market rates.

Trust MLGS to Improve Your Child’s Maths

Whatever the reason, signing your child up for maths tuition is a great way to ensure that they are getting the help they need. If you are looking for a maths tuition centre in Singapore, Maths Learning Groups may just be the right one for you.

Established by ex-primary school teacher Mr Lawrence Ong, we are a Clementi tuition centre that aims to uplift students who struggle with maths, by identifying their individual weaknesses and developing teaching plans that are tailored to their individual learning styles. We are committed to helping students improve by strengthening their foundation in key maths concepts, and setting them up for the future by instilling crucial skills like analytical reasoning and critical thinking.

Contact us today to find out more about our programme, and how we can help your child maximise their potential in maths!