Maaz Monib Syed of Cantonment Primary School is a boy who loves the wildlife and aspires to be a scientist. He loves science and has always been a natural on this subject. Growing up, Maaz was always curious about nature and animals. His excitement whenever he enters a Science laboratory was also a strong indicator of his love for the subject. Unfortunately, the same could not be said about his interest in Mathematics. He disliked the subject and never wanted to focus on it.
This eventually led to problems like not memorising his multiplication tables, which impacted his performance in the subject. Although he never failed, he was behind the rest of the class. Whenever he encountered a Math problem, he would simply say, “I’m tired” as an excuse and avoided discussions on Math all the time.
Encouragement & going back to basics
Both his father, Mr Monib Syed, and Mathematics teacher, Mr Jason Tan were determined to help Maaz overcome his lack of interest and self-confidence issues. They teamed up and tried various approaches to help make great strides in his performance.
Mr Syed used words of encouragement to boost his spirits. “I always try to praise and support him on his efforts so that he could continue to focus and not give up. Harsh words and nagging would never work so I try my best to help him through love and affection. It’s can be difficult at times but I learned that it was not impossible to do so,” said Mr Syed.
Maaz was fortunate to have a teacher who knew how to utilise his natural abilities to improve his Math grade. Mr Tan shared positive words and assigned him to be the Class Leader to help boost his self-confidence. He also received a more personalised tutoring in order to help him focus and catch up on concepts that were more challenging.
“I used the Differentiated Instruction approach with Maaz to engage him on a higher level and addressed his needs and queries either in a 1-1 or small group setting which allowed him to comprehend the concepts better. For example, the frequent use of visual illustrations such as fraction bars and discs during those sessions made it easier for Maaz to focus on the concepts,” said Mr Tan.
Mr Tan believed that all the positive affirmation has helped to increase Maaz’s confidence holistically. Not only was he more willing to attempt Mathematics problems, Maaz started to speak up and participate during class discussions. He also felt strongly about the importance for students to understand the basics well before attempting challenging questions. By doing so, it will provide them the necessary foundation skills and knowledge to progress more confidently.
“When students comprehend the basics of a concept, they will be more willing to delve deeper and less likely to give up halfway,” said Mr Tan.
Importance of parent-partnership
The good teamwork between parents and teachers is really important in our children’s education. When the communication and the intent of both parties for a child is right, children will not only feel good about themselves, but more importantly feel good about school. “Mr Tan provided necessary encouragement to my son at the right time. He connected well with him and gave valuable feedback to us parents during parent-teacher meetings,” said Mr Syed.
According to Mr Tan, balanced routines play a big part in shaping the cognitive disposition of children. For instance, primary school students should have well-defined play and study sessions on a daily basis.
“Young children should be given ample time for indoor and outdoor play to stimulate their senses. Encourage them to ask questions about their surroundings and have a curious mind. A print-rich environment, coupled with daily reading sessions with parents, would be optimal for a growing child to learn about the world around them,” said Mr Tan.
He also urged parents to be encouraging especially when their child encounters setbacks. This way, the child would be able to overcome their difficulties and come back mentally stronger than before.
Today, Maaz is thriving because he was given the support that he needed to overcome his difficulties in Math. He made incredible improvements. He is now more relaxed and confident during Math class, which gave him the opportunity to socialise more with his peers.
