Securing an A for H2 Math this COVID-19 Season

To JC2 students sitting for their ‘A’ Level Examinations this year, are you worried about how you are going to score an A for H2 Math? Things may seem bleak when face-to-face lessons have reverted back to being online and you are no longer to attend classes physically. Suddenly, all the help you had before is once again being stripped away. School libraries may not be open for some students and even if they are, your parents may not be keen on you heading to school to study given the evolving COVID-19 situation. There have been reports that COVID-19 is airborne and dining in at restaurants is not an option anymore. Students may find it hard to eat out even if they are allowed to go to school to study.

You will no longer be able to benefit from having peers by your side during lesson. Having a seating buddy to clarify your doubts with may have helped you a lot in your learning, if you found the content difficult to grasp or if the teacher spoke too fast and you could not catch up as you were still digesting the previous content. All this is lost since lessons have shifted online again. It may still be possible to message your friend during class, but this will be harder as it will be hard to multitask between tabs or two devices. You cannot simply lean over your friend’s shoulder to copy whatever notes you have left out. Rather, your friend will have to take a picture of her workings or notes for you.

There may even be less opportunity for discussion time and class tests. A test is a fundamental tool for teachers to gauge where students are at and the content students are weakest at. Conducting a test online may be a futile process, if video monitoring is inconvenient and students are able to toggle between devices. Unbeknownst to the invigilating teacher, a student may be using his phone to communicate with another. Students should bear in mind that at the end of the day, while their grades may appear perfect on paper, they lose out in the end as there will not be such an opportunity to collude during the actual ‘A’ Level Examinations. Students should take all work assigned and virtual proctoring seriously. They themselves will benefit if they do so as they will be able to get a good idea of their standing and the things to improve on.

But even if students do everything by the book, what if they still find themselves struggling in this climate? It is true that virtual classes are incomparable to physical lessons. While virtual lessons may be more convenient and students can catch a wink in between classes, they may find themselves more distracted as they are in a familiar and comfortable environment. Their bed is a stone’s throw away and so many leisure devices are within reach. It may take a lot of self-control for students to keep themselves in check and focused on the task at hand – which is their lesson or to complete their homework assigned. Without someone nagging at them to stay focused during lessons and teachers to snap you out of your daydream, students may find their attention drifting during class. There may also be less opportunity for teachers to remind students of the important of consistent practice, especially for subjects like the Sciences and Mathematics, where practice makes perfect.

Students taking H2 Math may find themselves struggling, especially with harder topics such as Complex Numbers, Integration or Functions. There may be less time for one-to-one consultation during breaks. There isn’t a queue to join to ask questions. H2 Math is one of the subjects students struggle most with and H2 Math Tuition is commonly sought after as compared to the other subjects.

The standard of H2 Math questions set also varies from school to school. Therefore, students from some schools may also have an edge over students from other schools when sitting for the ‘A’ Level examinations. Even if you are the top scorer for H2 Math in your class, this does not mean that an A is guaranteed. How then can students bridge this gap and secure an A for H2 Math? Finding a good H2 Math Tuition which exposes you to a large variety of H2 Math questions may do the trick. For the second time in this article: Practice makes perfect. Mathematics is one of the subject you can absolutely nail as long as you have enough exposure to the different question types that are typically set by the ‘A’ Level examiners.

Students should look for a H2 Math Tuition with a whole arsenal of resources at their disposal. They should tap on this resource, and not let it go to waste. There is never such a thing as “enough practice”, there are years and years of questions available out there and you should aim to be as fluent in Mathematics as you are in languages. You should groom yourself to be able to identify the methods required to solve a particular Mathematics question in a snap of a finger. Time is of essence for H2 Math examinations and one only has around 20 minutes maximum to complete each question. There is no time to waste and no time for students to dally.

Having H2 Math Tuition gives students the extra practice and the extra push required for them to get that desired A for ‘A’ Levels. Their H2 Math Tuition teacher may have decades of experience and may themselves be former Junior College teachers. They will be able to go through concepts you previously did not get in class and get you up to speed. If your H2 Math Tuition teacher teaches at a faster pace than your JC Mathematics teacher, you will be able to be ahead of your peers in classes and find that you have more time to spare for revision and perfecting your understanding of concepts. Sometimes, students may find that getting to go through concepts twice allows them to better familiarise themselves with concepts and they will find it easier to apply them in practice questions.

Not to fret, even if your H2 Math Tuition teacher teaches at a slower pace than your JC Mathematics teacher, you can take this as revision for earlier topics so that you will not have to go through them so much in detail in your preparation for ‘A’ Levels. This also gives you the chance to relearn concepts you were previously weak at and also identify doubts that you may not even known existed in the first place.

Your H2 Math Tuition teacher may not readily give out other schools’ practice papers. Reason being, they may be afraid to overburden their students and they may already have their own specially tailored practice papers for students to attempt. However, this should not stop you from requesting for more practice papers if you have the time to attempt them. You may find that even just reading through questions and looking at answer keys may be helpful to you. Time is limited so you may not be able to sit down and attempt every single question but it does make a difference to roughly know the different question types set by Junior Colleges apart from yours.

You can also pick out a few harder looking questions from practice papers as a form of challenge to yourself. You could set aside time each day to attempt questions. For example, you can commit to spending at least one hour each day trying out Math questions, regardless of whether your H2 Math tuition teacher or JC Mathematics teacher assigned you homework for the week. You are encouraged to take matters into your own hands and be independent in your learning. Your teachers will not always be around to guide you, and the COVID-19 situation has most likely cemented this understanding.

As your teachers probably emphasise, they are at your disposal. They are an email away and you should not be afraid to reach out to them for help. For a subject like H2 Math, It is imperative for you to clarify your doubts on the spot and not let them drag on. There is a lot of content to cover and students cannot afford to not understand a little of each topic as this will accumulate and become a whole ton of content that they do not grasp. Before they realise it, all their misconceptions will pile up and this will prove difficult to correct if they leave it to the last minute.

Therefore, it would be good if you book consultations with either your JC Mathematics teacher or your H2 Math Tuition teacher, although not all H2 Math Tuition teachers offer consultations. If they do and you find your H2 Math Tuition teacher to have a more effective teaching style than your JC Mathematics teacher, do not hesitate to ask him for a consultation session if lesson time is not enough to go all you have to cover. H2 Math Tuition teachers that are genuinely invested in you will sure to be spare you their time.

All in all, it would be greatly beneficial for you to find a H2 Math Tuition teacher that you can understand. It would be detrimental to your learning, especially during this COVID-19 season if you are equally lost in H2 Math Tuition classes as you are in classes in school. Since tuition classes have no choice but to be online as well due to government regulations, there is even more reason to find a H2 Math Tuition teacher who you find is effective. Spend a few lessons at the centre to see if it fits your learning style. H2 Math Tuition Centres sometimes offer trial lessons so keep a lookout for that too. In order to secure an A for H2 Math at ‘A’ Levels, you must strive to do all that is within your capacity. Hard work and grit will sure to pay off.