Help - English words for Math

Discussion in 'Education & Personal Growth' started by hrastro, Jan 30, 2015.

  1. hrastro

    hrastro Platinum IL'ite

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    I need help!

    I'm planning/working out a 10 day program for kids from 5th - 12th (and IIT aspirants) to improve speed and accuracy in maths, tips and tricks (also vedic maths tricks), clarifying concepts, finding problem areas and giving the right practice worksheets !!!

    It will be in separate batches (high school/senior school/pre-IIT) in April 1st 3 weeks (after that I plan to travel with my DS10, so no classes :)!

    As it is quite intensive, I need advance registrations for prior planning and also the seats will get filled very fast as I dont have any team and I can handle only a few kids at a time!

    While I'm good at maths and english grammar, there are several of you out there with a wonderful vocabulary (@sokanasanah @aria @gauri03 @chillbreeze @Srama @Akanksha1982 come to mind immediately)

    I need to send out an SMS / Whatsapp / email message to all the parents contacts I have - please help with a power packed message that I can send out to parents :)

    What are the adjectives that come to mind? What are the key words you look out for when you look for a course ?
     
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  2. hrastro

    hrastro Platinum IL'ite

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    Why cant I see this thread in my own control panel ? @IL_Admin
     
  3. sokanasanah

    sokanasanah IL Hall of Fame

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    For all consulting assignments, please contact my agent.
     
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  4. sokanasanah

    sokanasanah IL Hall of Fame

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    Hi, I am using S' account to reply to your post, since his contracts with CAA will not allow him to freelance.

    The SMS, WhatsApp are probably too short, so let me address the e-mail.

    Hmmm, what would I look for? :
    - I would want to know about your experience.
    - I would want to know (as either parent or student!), that it's a supportive, as opposed to a competitive, environment i.e. a safe place to get mistakes out of their system.
    - For each group, I would emphasize that the goal is to consolidate what they know, while leading them to the next level.
    - As a teaching philosophy, I would separate concept, notation, technique and application (especially for the 11th, 12th, pre-IIT crew and the group immediately junior to them).
    - your sentence starting with "speed, accuracy ..." is good, except that I might add something about building confidence. (I run into a fair number of bright students who lack confidence).

    You may need a website!
    :cheers
    P
     
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  5. Rihana

    Rihana Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    The situation reminds of a lover in ancient times, sitting with a blank papyrus in front, stylus in hand, and wanting to express his ardent longing for the recipient. Tough task. And in this situation it is not a lover, but parents who need to be convinced the math class is beneficial, limited time offer, and worth their money and child's time, and will make the child competitive while building fundamentals.

    Look up a few websites (no less than 5, no more than 9) of institutes that run such classes. Gather lines from different parts of each website, and paste in a doc. At the end you will have about two pages of sentences with adjectives, description, promises, and all the good stuff. Grey out all the text. Start reading, and highlight in 2-3 colors sentences that leap out at you for one reason or another.

    Then, take those, and rephrase them to reflect what you are offering in your classes. This rephrasing only you can do, as this is your baby. As you go about the exercise, you will find yourself making quick progress as you realize your classes are similar in some ways, different in some ways, and offer more in some ways than the ones whose websites you visited.

    I think this is not copying or violating any business ethics.

    Also, if you share a basic version with a few people offline, they can add/modify easier than list suggestions for what should be there. Coming back to the lover with stylus and papyrus analogy, if there is a recipient of his attentions already existing, an ode to her beauty and anything missing in that is easier than one about an imaginary love he hopes the gods will grant after his tapas ( and take away after another round of tapas.)
     
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  6. hrastro

    hrastro Platinum IL'ite

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    You are hilarious Sokanasanah! You know you are welcome for lunch/dinner any time - so does that qualify as payment for your freelance consultancy :)

    My qualifications and experience are in the corporate software development field and I have a BE from NIT + MBA

    About my experience etc, most parents in my area already know me and my love for maths and kids :) I'm usually the birthday party entertainer with maths puzzles, quizzes and number tricks !! So even if they have doubts, they just have to ask around ! But, most of these parents have kids below 5th std!!

    So, many of their kids wouldnt qualify for the camp! So, I need an SMS/Whatsapp message that they can pass on to their neighbors and contacts :)

    I've had free science experiments get togethers before and vedic maths sample classes - that was 3 years back - and kids and parents still ask me when's the next one!

    I like the fact that you call it supportive as opposed to competitive - I'd like to think that kids dont mind making mistakes with me! But many parents think that their kids dont study because they dont have any competition, therefore they are laidback about daily practice and discipline!

    "As a teaching philosophy, I would separate concept, notation, technique and application" - thats brilliant ! Let me dissect that statement and work it into my plan !!! My policy is applications and problems statement in laymen terms - then concept then notation and steps/technique - and short cuts/tricks/checks and verification!!

    You're right about the lack of confidence part - I have a student who needs approval before every step she writes !!! Can you imagine a high pitched sing song voice asking if she's supposed to write this, then writes and then asks me to check each and every alphabet or number she writes - and it would usually be correct!! At first, it drove me crazy especially with 4 other kids clamoring for my attention!!! But, I have been working on her confidence levels - now she at least finishes 5 sums before she asks each and every step for 1 sum, I indulge her for 1 sum and she continues with the next 5!!!

    Website is not a problem - Have you seen my website on creating awareness for kids - http://smartkids.esy.es

    I can do one myself - no issues - I want to establish myself as a maths wiz right now !

    Thank you for your response sokanasanah!! You have given me a lot of food for thought!!

     
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  7. Srama

    Srama Finest Post Winner

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    hrastro,

    Happy to see @sokanasanah take a first go at it - thank you! . Since your program will differ like you said based on grade level, I would urge you to remember that when you phrase your mail and may be draft three different emails for the various target groups by tweaking some text keeping the age group and purpose in mind.

    Perhaps a draft message will help some of us to pitch in our two cents? I agree with the website part!
     
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  8. hrastro

    hrastro Platinum IL'ite

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    Thanx a million for your response, Rihana !!

    I can picture Kalidasa's Dushyanta and Shakuntala on opposite sides of the river - singing in longing with a feather in hand!!! :)


    I usually tend to ramble on but you put the requirement very concisely - "the math class is beneficial, limited time offer, and worth their money and child's time, and will make the child competitive while building fundamentals."

    I'll use this statement as a base too!!

    Collecting content from other websites is a good idea, I'll try that too!

    Yeah, I do understand that if there's a basic version, it would be easier to edit and rephrase ! But my basic edition would be verbose and long-winded :) so I thought I could ask IL for some help :)

    I'll put up a basic version here soon!




     
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  9. hrastro

    hrastro Platinum IL'ite

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    Srama, thanx for your response!

    Yes of course!! The texts would have to be different !! Why didnt I think of that !!!

    I'm so glad I'm asking here - and so well in advance for april - you all are a powerhouse of ideas !! I was just telling my mom - I know and can teach maths but I dont know how to sell maths :)

    OK - I'll work out a draft message then! And post it back here !

    My USP is that nowadays teachers dont have the time to give correct feedback - every kid is different - and makes a different type/family of mistakes !! I'm working on identifying the individual style of mistakes they make and where they slow down and also their strong points and work on improving them

    This 12th std student of mine couldnt do fractions additions - she never learnt the right way to do it! So I worked on that, sent her home with 5th std worksheets and now she does calculus and trigonometry with ease :)

    And many kids do the steps without understanding why/how - and they fail at word problems !! So I usually have interactive discussions on each topic - can you imagine discussing for 1 hour on simple equations :) and writing news articles on ratio and proportions !! My younger students do that :)

     
  10. Gauri03

    Gauri03 Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    Since it's a short duration course, I would focus on the intensive/immersive nature of it. Lot's of great ideas on content and structuring, so I'll throw in some terminology. You could use words/phrases such as -

    - 10-day math bootcamp
    - provides intensive immersion in concepts/techniques
    - addresses concept gaps
    - math remediation
    - teaches rapid-calculation/time-saving techniques
    - lesson plans customized to each participant's specific skill-level
    - One-on-one problem solving with instructor
    - Individualized feedback focusing on bridging skill-gaps/confidence-gaps

    I'll probably think of more once you post your first draft. Good luck!
     
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