This afternoon, I had the pleasure of watching Anna tutor little Mason in Maths!!
Mason is in primary school and came in highly energetic and enthusiastic! He hadn't finished his assigned homework though, complaining about too much homework from school and not enough time - of which Anna was very understanding.
She emphasised the importance of completing our homework to Mason. After he acknowled this, Anna allowed Mason the first 10 minutes or so of the lesson to complete the remainder of his homework.
During this time, it became clear that Mason was actually a little bit unsure on how to answer some of the questions, which may have been the true reason it was incomplete (rather than a lack of time).
Anna guided Mason through a few of the questions, after which he was clearly feeling much more confident, and blitzed through the rest of them, effortlessly.
Anna praised Mason on finishing his incomplete homework so promptly, and it was at this point that they got into new material for the lesson.
Together, they decided to work on exponents.
Anna showed Mason very simply what an "exponent" is, explaining that it is the name given to the little number to the top right of a big number, and represents how many times that number is being multiplied to itself.
As they worked through varying diffiulties of question style, there were instances where Mason was highly tempted to use his calculator for even very simple arithmetic. Anna encouraged Mason not to use his calculator, in order to give him an opportunity to refine his mental maths - a skill that will undoubtedly serve him in the long run.
Yes, technogy is useful - but it can become a crutch if relied on incessantly, especially for very simple calculations.
Overall, Anna guided Mason with a very warm and encouraging tone and demeanour, allowing him the comfort and permission to try and fail without fear, which is ultimately the environment within which we learn and improve most optimally in!!
Thank you, Anna!
