Math Arena - Discussion

[alphonsus]

KingRascal:

Glad my input helps. To add on, if you look at existing math syllabus questions, there are at times a few challenging questions thrown into an exam paper which appear to be the formats of olympiad math. So I do feel that such training does help to a certain extent.


However, guess we also have to note that we should not expect these enrichment centres to do wonders alone ( and this applies to any sort of classes, not just pertaining to Math Arena). The child himself or herself must have the motivation to learn and we as parents should also follow-up closely with the centre and the child to track the progress.

Happy exploring.. Maybe I would \"see\" you there! My DS would be there to stay

My DS is only P2 and so far had not encountered really challenging questions in his math paper yet. Guess it may be useful for PSLE math as I've noticed there are always this one or two difficult questions. Hope this investment will come it handy in dealing with this.

I had more or less decided to let him go for it(with or without hubby's funding, of course now I will ask him to pay too..hahaa ). Hope to see you around and learn from you and your DS.

[bumbee]

Hello! I am Mdm C.Tan and I would like to share my experience with you readers about Math Arena, at Tampines and how my search eventually took me there.

For the most part of both my sons’ academic journey, I teach them. It has proved to be an enriching as well as a fulfilling experience but at times trying, especially 2011, as my elder boy sat for the PSLE and my younger, enters Primary 3.
I am a stay home mum and after fifteen years at work, I decided to put my career on the backburner despite enjoying what I did simply because I saw motherhood as my first priority and I have no regrets doing so. As my two boys grew, I learnt that no two children are academically the same and coaching them would take on different strokes!
My search for Math coaching for my elder son, only began in late P4 as I saw a trend towards Heuristic Math questions set from the school that he attends. Although he was strong in the subject, I felt moving forward, I needed to support and nurture him further in his love for math and to equip him with the mathematical skills needed to answer the myriad of questions as he progressed towards PSLE. Oh, what a journey that has been in my search for the "right" tuition centre or the "right" home tutor! I found myself frustrated because most do not deliver results. There was a lack of emphasis on mathematical concepts and "know-how" despite advertising their unique brand of methodology. To add on to that, a lack of "heartware". On home tutors we engaged - That, is an entire story altogether!
We chanced upon Math Arena quite by "accident" during one of our online searches. At that point in time, from the many math practice papers the school was gearing the students towards, I realised that the tuition my son was getting was not sufficiently meeting the mark as there were still misinterpretations of questions and misconceptions. When we came to, he had only five months left to PSLE! We knew that fundamentally our son was more than able to pass the paper but we needed to "up" his tutoring.
My encounter with Persis at the centre was warm and heartening. I addressed my concerns to her and without hesitation, she took my boy on and through the weeks, concepts were emphasized, re-emphasized, simplified, expanded upon and shown how it is all encompassing and integral in working towards achieving accurate answers. His confidence soared and by the time PSLE came, he was ready to "conquer"! I also like the time taken by Persis to explain to me what she had covered during the lessons and what I needed to have my son work on at home. She would then revisit those concepts with him in the following lesson to see that he has understood. Persis was both nurturing and patient and she showed that it mattered that my son excelled. He misses attending lessons there now that the PSLE is over!
Besides Persis, my son was also tutored briefly by Damian Lee and he found his teaching interesting and concepts clearly understood.
To those who are wondering still wondering, I hope my email has squashed your queries. May your search come to an end to what took an eternity for me, many moons ago!

[alphonsus]

bumbee:

Hello! I am Mdm C.Tan and I would like to share my experience with you readers about Math Arena, at Tampines and how my search eventually took me there.

For the most part of both my sons’ academic journey, I teach them. It has proved to be an enriching as well as a fulfilling experience but at times trying, especially 2011, as my elder boy sat for the PSLE and my younger, enters Primary 3.
I am a stay home mum and after fifteen years at work, I decided to put my career on the backburner despite enjoying what I did simply because I saw motherhood as my first priority and I have no regrets doing so. As my two boys grew, I learnt that no two children are academically the same and coaching them would take on different strokes!
My search for Math coaching for my elder son, only began in late P4 as I saw a trend towards Heuristic Math questions set from the school that he attends. Although he was strong in the subject, I felt moving forward, I needed to support and nurture him further in his love for math and to equip him with the mathematical skills needed to answer the myriad of questions as he progressed towards PSLE. Oh, what a journey that has been in my search for the \"right\" tuition centre or the \"right\" home tutor! I found myself frustrated because most do not deliver results. There was a lack of emphasis on mathematical concepts and \"know-how\" despite advertising their unique brand of methodology. To add on to that, a lack of \"heartware\". On home tutors we engaged - That, is an entire story altogether!
We chanced upon Math Arena quite by \"accident\" during one of our online searches. At that point in time, from the many math practice papers the school was gearing the students towards, I realised that the tuition my son was getting was not sufficiently meeting the mark as there were still misinterpretations of questions and misconceptions. When we came to, he had only five months left to PSLE! We knew that fundamentally our son was more than able to pass the paper but we needed to \"up\" his tutoring.
My encounter with Persis at the centre was warm and heartening. I addressed my concerns to her and without hesitation, she took my boy on and through the weeks, concepts were emphasized, re-emphasized, simplified, expanded upon and shown how it is all encompassing and integral in working towards achieving accurate answers. His confidence soared and by the time PSLE came, he was ready to \"conquer\"! I also like the time taken by Persis to explain to me what she had covered during the lessons and what I needed to have my son work on at home. She would then revisit those concepts with him in the following lesson to see that he has understood. Persis was both nurturing and patient and she showed that it mattered that my son excelled. He misses attending lessons there now that the PSLE is over!
Besides Persis, my son was also tutored briefly by Damian Lee and he found his teaching interesting and concepts clearly understood.
To those who are wondering still wondering, I hope my email has squashed your queries. May your search come to an end to what took an eternity for me, many moons ago!

So good to see many positive feedback on this center. Bought my boy to check out the center last weekend and he is looking forward to having lesson there. Since my boy is under 9, I've also booked for the Modular Diagnostic Paper (MDP) and hope he can start his learning at Math Arena soon(in Jan 2012).

Thanks to all who had provided invaluable feedback.

[splash8129.013126singnet.013126com.013126sg]

It seems that the Math Arena centre is for those who are already good in math… correct me if I’m wrong.

[5cents]

Attend the Sakamoto Parents Preview workshop to see if it benefits your child. I attended one of them and I personally find that Sakamoto method is a very good method that complements the model’s method. To quote the presenter, "the more challenging the question, the better it works".


There are some centres that are conducting Parents Preview workshop in Dec 2011 and Jan 2012 that you may want to consider attending. You can see how the method works and whether it benefits your child.

5cents

[KingRascal]

PN:

It seems that the Math Arena centre is for those who are already good in math.... correct me if I'm wrong.

Hi PN, pardon for this extremely late reply. Have been really busy

Well, I am not in the position to clear your doubts but just to share my humble observations. It's no wonder that you have that impression from our entries. It so happened that the few entries you read came from parents who enrolled their children for the competition math classes. They, including myself, are looking for a different path of math which would expand our children beyond the current school syllabus scope and the thinking process.

Besides the competition math classes, Math Arena also offer classes that focus on PSLE prep, school syllabus, heuristic, problem solving skills, , etc. I do believe that the mix of students are varied, and the centre does not conduct placement tests to decide on the acceptance of the students...

Hope I have offered some insights ...

[gaagaa]

Hi, can someone share on what is covered in their classes? For example, do they teach topics following the school syllabus? How many % of teaching is on Heuristic questions? Is there homework given? Will an average kid feel stress if he/she is placed with some high performancing kids?


Just trying to explore if this centre is suitable for my kid who is poor in Heuristic qns…

[leeven]

Hi Gaagaa Sorry for late reply .My DS currently goes for SMOPS and previously NMOS. He is registering for normal maths from April onwards. it is school syllabus they cover. They dont give homework . It is a mix class so dont worry. if you think you need more help talk to Persis who is centre head. The team is more helpful. I do send him for classes as It is something feel at home and reliable and not just commercial.

[sweetbaby]

Hi


maths competition classes starts from which level? thx

[Tan Lip Guo]

Hello,

AFAIK, pupils can take math competitions from P4. It is also possible to start training early, probably from P2 or P3 onwards.

Tan Lip Guo