The assignment booklets for the first 3 Tutor Marked Assessments (TMA) and the first Computer Marked Assessment (CMA) were put on the MST121 web site a couple of days ago.
I have now done them, apart from the questions where you have to have Maths Cad printouts. I'm not sure what value the Maths Cad has, as I could get the answers quite easily without using it.
As the cut off date for these assignments is end August 2011, I can now concentrate on the other courses.
I have decided to get an official degree in Mathematics.
So I have signed up with the Open University and will be taking courses MST121 (Using Mathematics) MS221 (Exploring Mathematics) and M208 (Pure Mathematics), starting in January.
I also wanted to take M337 - Complex Analysis, but I was told I was not allowed to take so many courses at once.
The materials arrived for M208 last Saturday,and it all seems pretty straightforward so far. I am working my way through the books and exercises.
Here are the results of a survey into increased grades and private tuition.
I hope the owners of the site, where I am registered, do not mind an extract here.
New research has shown that private tuition does seem to improve grades at GCSE and A-Level. The survey, conducted by First Tutors, asked families with children taking exams this year whether they felt private tuition had improved their estimated grades. Results showed that private tuition increased results by an average of one grade, e.g. from D to C, enough to make a potentially crucial difference to university choices.
At both GCSE and A-Level, the biggest potential for grade improvement was shown to be at the lower end of the grade scale (grades U - D), where students improved an average of two grades.
Starting early appears to matter, particularly to GCSE candidates where those receiving private tuition for between three and six months lifted their results by an average of one and a half grades, versus just under one grade for those receiving tuition for less than three months.
But surprisingly, there was little correlation between hourly fees charged by tutors and grade impact. The average cost of tuition for GCSE and A-level among students surveyed was £22 per hour, with most families choosing one hour per week of private tutoring.
Asked whether they felt the grade improvement could be attributed to private tuition, 80% of the 150 families surveyed said they believed tutoring had definitely improved their results.
The new school year is about to begin and my diary is beginning to fill up with places for maths tuition on the Wirral.
I charge 15 pounds per hour. You can pay that at some web sites for what is basically a call centre in India.
Personal tuition is the best. If you sign up to a web site, it can be difficult for students to visit the web site often enough to make it worth while. Personal tuition means I can see instantly if the student has understood something.
My name is Steven Carr. I am a maths tutor on the Wirral. I give maths tuition in Birkenhead, Wallasey, Greasby , Upton, Meols, Hoylake, West Kirby, Bebington, Bromborough and other places on the Wirral.
To contact me to discuss tuition please ring 0772 6 288 756
Here is some very kind feedback in the past day.
Alison 'This tutor is very professional in his approach. He has engaged with our daughter and sparked a real interest in maths again - after a small number of lessons there is already a tangible increase in her confidence and understanding. Have no hesitation in recommending this tutor.'
Another student got an A* at GCSE. I'm very pleased for her.
If anybody is looking for maths tuition or a maths tutor on the Wirral please contact me on 077 2 6 288 756
I cover Birkenhead, Irby, Wallasey, Heswall, Upton, Moreton , Greasby, Hoylake, Meols, Neston, West Kirby and other places.
Another of my students has texted me to say he got an A at GCSE. Congratulations to him!
I have been very pleased with the GCSE results.
In the past 2 days
'I just wanted to say a big thankyou for your help with my maths GCSE. I got my result today and I got a B! I'm very pleased. Thanks again'
'We are very pleased with James' AS maths results. He is considering retaking C1 as he thinks he can do better. Many thanks for all your help.'
'Richard got an A in Maths. Thanks Steven, he's delighted.'
The GCSE results have been very good.
One student failed her maths really badly last time, before lessons with me, but now she has got her C.
Another got a B, which exceeded her target grade of C.
One of my students who did badly had a teacher who was off ill for a long time, and was replaced by a teacher who was learning A-Level as he went along.
Perhaps one hour a week of extra tuition can't really overcome that?
Judging by the reactions on the forums, there is a big jump from GCSE to A Level.
GCSE is not good preparation for A Level and some students struggle with the new level.
Some recent comments, within the last week.
'Thanks for the tuition as it really helped me to achieve my A grade'
'Michael is very pleased and we are very grateful to you for all the help you have given him over the past few months. You have kept his interest and confidence growing.'
'Sophie really enjoyed the lesson. What was heartening was that as soon as you left she was keen to show me the new way of working out long multiplication - it was good to see the enthusiasm.'
Some of my AS-Level students had disappointing results. I expected some of them to get a D, but they did not.
One of my students did get 287/300, but some students did worse than expected, even though they were doing past papers reasonably during lessons.
I had helped one of them get an A at GCSE, but he still did badly at AS Level.
My students who had 2 lessons per week all did really well.
Is the lesson that just 1 hour a week is not enough to cover C1, C2 and either S1 or M1?
With exams coming up, my schedule is very full.
But I am happy to deal with new students if they want extra lessons during their study leave.
So if you want a maths tutor on the Wirral, I would be delighted if you would call me on 07726 288 756
