Tips on Tutoring Adults in Basic Math

Many working professionals go back to college to earn their degrees for career advancement. Besides balancing work and school, one of the most common hurdles is passing basic math classes. Regardless of the degree programs, basic math is generally part of the general education curriculum. Many courses, such as accounting, have basic math classes as the prerequisites. Most adult students are dedicated and determined. Through consistent practice and detailed explanation, adult students can master the content of the course and step closer to earning their degrees.
  1. Demonstrate

    • Demonstrate the process of solving for an answer with multiple concrete examples. Do one-or two-step problems first, then gradually increase the difficulty of the problems to multi-step ones. There are many abstract concepts in mathematics. It is hard for adult students to visualize these concepts without seeing how they work in actual problems. For example, demonstrate each step of solving a linear equation by explaining why and how to perform each step. Try similar problems and repeat the process until the adult student appears to grasp the basic concept.

    Practice

    • Give practice exercises to adult learners to do independently. Let students follow the examples you have demonstrated and ask them to repeat the procedures. If the students are able to perform the steps, then ask them to do similar exercises without referring to the examples. If they are still unclear on how to solve that type of problem, go over the steps again with them slowly. You may even need to try other approaches, such as using symbols or application problems.

    Reinforce

    • Revisit fundamental concepts or skills they have learned from previous sessions. Retaining knowledge is as important as teaching new skills. Go over the concepts that are related to the new concepts you are about to teach. Make certain that students are comfortable with basic concepts and are able to perform basic tasks before you continue. For example, if you are teaching students how to expand an algebraic expression, you should recall their knowledge on multiplying real numbers, basic algebraic expressions and combining like terms.

    Additional Resources

    • Provide adult learners with additional resources, such as examples, books and videos. Many adult learners are motivated to do more exercises on their own if they are given proper tools. Guide them to specific websites that contain accurate and detailed information. Often, math textbooks and online courseware already comes with many videos and extra practice for students to use. Provide many similar exercises with an answer key for adult learners to practice at home.

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