Rajbir Virdi Virdi

My experience as a private tutor and through delivering interventions at school revealed students’ aversion to maths predominantly stems from a binary idea of being naturally gifted and logical or favouring the arts and humanities. Their lack of understanding usually manifests in the form of low-level disruption or disinterest. Therefore, I think the best way to keep students motivated is by assigning them a range of tasks such as Kahoots- a fun game-based learning platform- and doing circuits which consolidate learning by assigning bite-sized tasks to complete within a timeframe.

As a result of Covid-19 equal opportunities for students within mainstream education have widened and the effects will be felt for years. So, it is important for teachers to be effective in their methods and display resilience and optimism. Therefore it is important to challenge students’ negative assumptions about their abilities which hinder their progress and curiosity by breaking down complex mathematical concepts into simple ones. This may be achieved through visually displaying what is happening when performing calculations (such as using props) as numbers are intangible units used to describe the behaviour of tangible objects. If students can see what they are doing, it solidifies their understanding and motivates them.

Furthermore, my role as a learning support assistant developed my understanding and appreciation for the breadth of learning difficulties students face and how these can be overcome in the classroom. An example of this is the prevalence of the developmental disability Autism. As many students have co-occurring conditions such as ADHD, they may display challenging behaviour such as having difficulty expressing their emotions, interacting with their peers and completing tasks. Coping strategies such as using fidget tools, providing differentiated tasks, and counting to 10 before prompting further for an answer are very effective in helping students learn. As pupils with learning difficulties generally have trouble retaining information, I find that building on knowledge from the previous lesson is a good revision technique as it helps students gain a holistic understanding of the maths being covered and provides them with agency over their learning- a more long-term method of motivation. Scaffolding is also another effective teaching method as it helps students move from dependent to independent learning.
I think it is important for teachers to be aware of the learning difficulties students face and understand how to accommodate them to make their experience more inclusive. It is also important for young people to be open-minded and interact with their neurodivergent peers.

As students spend a large portion of their time at school, it is important to encourage them to channel their problem-solving skills through non-academic activities. An example of how I implemented this is through my starting a chess club which was open to all students.

Overall, the practical skills I have acquired through my role as an LSA and tutor over the years have prepared me to take on a role as a full-time teacher who is encouraging, committed and motivated.