OnSponge Maths - Discussion

[despmom99]

How big is the group size for OnSponge Math?

[thinkingmath]

@bud & @puzz...zzle


Given your kids marks, I would agree that the generic one day workshop may not be necessary. That said, we do get kids with marks above 90 attending for the following reasons:
- the school they attends does not teach them the heuristics / onSponge methods
- additional practice and re-enforcement with more challenging questions as we can pace for this group of kids using 'bonus' questions designed to challenge the faster kids
- fun and motivation through competitions, etc.

It can be challenging to move the class (14-24 kids) forward when each child learns at a different pace. Typically the things we do are:
- design the curriculum such that the faster paced kids will get additional more challenging questions
- provide facilitators to assist both the slower and faster paced kids. The majority of the kids move along with master coach (at the board) and the facilitators will walk around assisting the kids who require assistance (at any level). They also mark and provide feedback to all the kids.
- have individual and group based competitions allowing all kids to participate and get the sense of accomplishment
- try to split the kids up where practical into different groups based on ability. For example this year we ran 3 P3 classes at one time and split the kids up according to their marks so that we could be more flexible with the pace. This is not always feasible depending on the number of concurrent classes we are running for a given level.

As an example, I chose to take 1 P6 5-day class this June. We had one boy who was clearly ahead of the class; another boy who was highly motivated but when he got stuck on a question he immediately stopped and gave up for the rest of the day; and another we was slower than the rest of the class.
- For the faster boy, marks mid 90s, I spoke with his parents to ensure that their, his and our expectations matched as he was clearly capable of answering all our 'normal' questions, he knew the onSponge methods in school, and was self motivated. Our approach was 1) set expectations, 2) selected a subset of questions from the worksheets for him to do so we could review his approach for that style of question and offer advise, 3) provide bonus questions that challenged him each day; 4) reviewed those questions with each day to ensure that he was able to solve them.
- For the slower boy, he attended the workshop 20-40 minutes earlier each day to review the previous days work ensuring he understood the materials and solutions before moving on to the next lesson. We also provided the solutions to each question so the parents could review his 'homework' and assist before the next day if practical.
- For the child who lacked perseverance, we took a similar approach to above but also found opportunities for him to 'shine' in front of the class giving him greater confidence thus encouraging him to move forward even when he struggled. We also worked on his approach for breakdown questions so that he wouldn't get stuck in the first place.

Of course there will be times where the workshop is really not appropriate and we try to weed this cases out up front before the workshop even begins based on marks and the school the child attends.

@despmom
Are you referring to the holiday workshop programmes or the tuition?

For tuition, the class sizes range from 4 to 10 kids with an average of 6-8 students. Classes will start with a minimum of 4 students however some of our centres will opt to start with 3. For further assistance you can visit this link http://www.onsponge.com/learn/tuition-onsponge.html

For workshops we typically do not go with more than 25 kids in one group with 3-4 trainers providing a coach to student ratio of 1:6 to 1:8. The smallest sized class would be around 14 kids with 2-3 trainers.

[cakesarenice]

May I know mrs lee’s contact number? My daughter from Tao nan school also said her friend is under a mrs lee and she’s doing well I heard. Wonder if it’s the same mrs lee. Her friend told her she doesn’t know the tutor’s number:( can a kind soul help?

[buzzmario]

Mommybel:

Thank u babyjewels. Mrs Lee is great. My p6 girl went to her and she picked up so many short-cut methods. Now she can do her math so much more confidently. My girl was lucky that Mrs Lee slotted her in(maybe because she's in p6). She also attended the holiday workshop which was very intensive. I think Mrs Lee covered the important questions that are commonly found in Paper 2. I'm glad I came to this forum:)

hi, able to pm me the fees and where will the tutition be held? thanks

[iFirefly]

HAPPYH:

Any reviews for onsponge tuition???? Please care to share. Thank you in advance

Yup, this is a thread on ''OnSponge Math''..
Maybe you guys can consider starting a new thread \"Mrs Lee Math'', if so many people are so keen to know more about her.. :roll:

[HAPPYH]

firefly38:

HAPPYH:

Any reviews for onsponge tuition???? Please care to share. Thank you in advance

Yup, this is a thread on ''OnSponge Math''..
Maybe you guys can consider starting a new thread \"Mrs Lee Math'', if so many people are so keen to know more about her.. :roll:

Yes, I think we need to keep this thread to discuss about onsponge tuition.

[sleepy]

Anyone tried their regular weekly Maths tuition class (not workshop)?

Is it meant for weaker students or high ability students?
Mainly practising problem sums?

Any feedback? Thanks!

[cakesarenice]

No one has anything to say about on sponge since the last posting on July 11?

[sleepy]

Anyone tried their regular weekly Maths tuition class (not workshop)?

Is it meant for weaker students or high ability students?
Mainly practising problem sums?

Any feedback? Thanks!

[thinkingmath]

@sleepy


It is mainly (85%) focused on problem sums ie the conceptual side of math rather than the computational side. However, because the schools progress at different rates, we find that some effort is required on the computational side. For example, we will teach percentage and ratio earlier than the schools to give them an edge on problem solving techniques. For P3 and P4 there is still a fair bit of computational for topics such as Area & Perimeter, Angles, Time, Mass, etc. For P5 & P6 the percentage of effort on computational mathematics decreases.

With regards to the \"types\" / \"ability\" of students, there is merit for most levels of ability with exception of the really week (below 20) or those really really strong GEP. The question is, which group gains the most benefit? In my person opinion, those below 20 should be looking at one-to-one tuition rather than group so particular issues can be addressed at the child's unique pace. That said, we do have a few classes with students between 20-40 marks trying to bring them to a pass. These classes are few in numbers and have less students per class 4-8. We do not publish these particular classes and try to arrange them based on the demand from parents. For these classes not all onSponge methods are taught and the classes move at a slower pace to ensure the kids understand.

For the average student (40 - 80), the classes aim to teach concepts and provide sufficient practice and exposure to more challenging questions to move them to a B, A or A*. Most kids move up a grade or two over the course of a year. Of course not all do and some will decline for various reasons. For these students, a little more patience is required while we work together to determine the cause for the decline.

For those that are 90+, it is really about efficiency and exposure. This level ability typically have a solid foundation and want additional challenge compared to what is offered in school or past year papers. For this group we have 'bonus' questions to push them forward. That said, for this level there is a high probability that they will be able to answer most questions without guidance and really you are paying for that extra few percent. You need to think twice about spending money (at any centre) for those few extra points. Perhaps it is worth it perhaps not. For me, if my daughter was getting 95%, I would have her involved in some sports programme rather than trying to get 98%. But we each have our own objectives

I hope that has given you a little information. You can always speak to us directly to discuss your child's particular situation and whether or not the classes will him/her.