Posted in A. Math, Sec Math, Track Record

Yay, my sec 3 NA student topped his class in A. Math.

Congratulations to Daniel Lam, from BPGHS, who obtained 39 out of 40 marks for his recent A. Math class test on Quadratic Equations.

I’m still not used to publishing testimonials from current or past students for my teaching or tutoring. In fact, I hardly record or remember their pre-tuition and post-tuition marks. It is sufficient for me that my students have stayed with me for as long as they have needed my guidance (or nagging), and that they continue to do well all the way to university.

Yes, I’m not good at marketing. Even my website is not dazzling enough. It’s ok for now, as I still get a sufficient number of students every year. I don’t even produce my own materials (but I know where to get the good ones).

So without aggressive marketing, testimonials and “own materials”, how have I been able to attract students to come and learn? And in what ways do I add value to a student’s learning? Well, you have to attend my tutorial sessions to know what thinking looks like.  : )

Rgds,

Ilyasa

Posted in A. Math

S4 A. Math O-Level Conceptual Revision: Exam Prep beginning 2nd week of April

 

For our latest timetable, click here =>  secbutton

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ORIGINAL POST(OUTDATED):

 

Conceptual Revision classes are for Sec 4 students to revise their Sec 3 work in preparation for their SA1 or Prelim exams. Details as follows (sms or call 97860411 to register):

Level/Subject:  S4 Additional Math

Days/Times:  (1) Sundays, 5.30 pm to 7.00 pm.

Location: Blk 627 Bukit Batok Central #07-640

Topics: Sec 3 A. Math topics such as Polynomials, Binomial Theorem, Logarithms etc.

Target Group: This series of revision workshops is suitable for low to medium ability Sec 4 A. Math students who need to revise their A. Math in a systematic and effective way. High ability Sec 3 students may also attend these sessions to revise or have a headstart in their A. Math.

Focus: Conceptual Understanding, Solving Challenging or Tricky A. Math Problems, Exam-Answering Techniques.

Format: Lecture + Worksheets + Discussions

Fees: $200 per month

Class Size: 2 to 6 students.

Tutor: Mr Ilyasa; M.Ed (NIE), PGDE (NIE), BSc (NUS), Ex-RI/RJC; ex-sch teacher, full-time tutor of PSLE, O and A Level Math and Physics. (h/p: 97860411)

ilyasa2

A former secondary school Physics teacher, Mr Ilyasa has been coaching students in ‘A’ Level (H2/H1) Physics and (H2/H1) Mathematics for more than 7 years, as well as ‘O’ Level Physics, Additional Math, Math and PSLE Math for more than 10 years. An alumnus of RI and RJC, Mr Ilyasa holds a Bachelor of Science degree with Merit from the National University of Singapore, a Postgraduate Diploma in Education with Credit from the National Institute of Education, Singapore, and a Master of Education (Curriculum & Teaching) degree also from the NIE, Singapore.

To register, kindly call or send an sms to 97860411.

Posted in A-Level, A. Math, O-Level English, Pure Chemistry, Pure Physics, Sec Math

A-Level & O-Level 2013 Preparation (morning classes, mainly for those re-taking)

We do provide coaching for students who are free to attend classes in the mornings or early afternoons. Such students are typically those who are re-taking their A-levels or O-levels. The levels and subjects offered are:

A-Level: General Paper, (H2/H1) Economics, (H2/H1) Math, (H2) Management of Business. (H2/H1) Physics (upon request)

O-Level: English, Math, Additional Math, Science (Physics/Chemistry), Pure Physics, Pure Chemistry, Economics, Business Studies.

Class type: Small group or Individual

Location: 3-min walk from Bukit Batok MRT station.

For other details, such as timings and fees, kindly call or sms to 97860411, or send an email to ilyasa@conceptlearning.sg.

The Tutors:

ilyasa2

Mr Ilyasa:  A former MOE school teacher, Mr Ilyasa has been coaching students in ‘A’ Level Physics, Mathematics and Economics for more than 7 years, as well as ‘O’ Level Physics, Additional Math and Math for more than 10 years. An alumnus of RI and RJC, Mr Ilyasa holds a Bachelor of Science degree with Merit from the National University of Singapore, a Postgraduate Diploma in Education with Credit from the National Institute of Education, Singapore, and a Master of Education (Curriculum & Teaching) degree also from the NIE, Singapore.

Mr Jay Lim: An experienced full-time tutor, Mr Lim holds a Master of International Management (USA), B.Sc (USA) majoring in Finance & Retail Management, Higher Stage Certificate in Economics, The London Chamber of Commerce & Industry. He was formerly a financial services consultant and an ex-bank officer. Mr Lim has been teaching English at various levels in an Integrated Programme school for about 5 years. He will be focusing on General Paper, Management of Business and Economics in Singapore Learner.

For details, such as timings and fees, kindly call or sms to 97860411.

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For our latest timetable, click here =>  jcbutton

Posted in A. Math, Sec Math

Sec 4 A. Math & Math Tuition By Ex-Sch Teacher

 

For our latest timetable, click here =>  secbutton

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ORIGINAL POST(OUTDATED):

 

Sec 4   A. Math  (Investment amt: $180 per mth):

Fri 5.45 – 7.15 pm;

Sat 2.15 pm – 3.45 pm;

Sec 4 E. Math (Investment amt: $180 per mth):

Tues 7.45 – 9.15 pm;

Tutor: Mr Ilyasa; M.Ed (NIE), PGDE (NIE), BSc (NUS), Ex-RI/RJC; ex-sch teacher, full-time tutor of PSLE, O and A Level Math and Physics. (h/p: 97860411)

ilyasa2

A former secondary school teacher, Mr Ilyasa has been coaching students in ‘A’ Level (H2/H1) Physics and (H2/H1) Mathematics for more than 6 years, as well as ‘O’ Level Physics, Additional Math, Math and PSLE Math for more than 10 years. An alumnus of RI and RJC, Mr Ilyasa holds a Bachelor of Science degree with Merit from the National University of Singapore, a Postgraduate Diploma in Education with Credit from the National Institute of Education, Singapore, and a Master of Education (Curriculum & Teaching) degree also from the NIE, Singapore.

DETAILS:

Location: Blk 627 Bukit Batok Central #07-640

Average Class Size: 2-6 students

To register, kindly call or send an sms to 97860411, indicating the Student Name, the Subject and Level.

Posted in A. Math, Sec Math

Sec 3 A. Math & Math Tuition By Ex-Sch Teacher

 

For our latest timetable, click here =>  secbutton

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ORIGINAL POST(OUTDATED):

 

Sec 3   A. Math: (Investment amt:  $180 per mth):

Thurs 5.45 to 7.15 pm;

Sun 2.15pm to 3.45 pm;

Sec 3 E. Math: (Investment amt: $180 per mth):

Tues 5.45 to 7.15 pm;

Tutor: Mr Ilyasa; M.Ed (NIE), PGDE (NIE), BSc (NUS), Ex-RI/RJC; ex-sch teacher, full-time tutor of PSLE, O and A Level Math and Physics. (h/p: 97860411)

ilyasa2

A former secondary school teacher, Mr Ilyasa has been coaching students in ‘A’ Level (H2/H1) Physics and (H2/H1) Mathematics for more than 6 years, as well as ‘O’ Level Physics, Additional Math, Math and PSLE Math for more than 10 years. An alumnus of RI and RJC, Mr Ilyasa holds a Bachelor of Science degree with Merit from the National University of Singapore, a Postgraduate Diploma in Education with Credit from the National Institute of Education, Singapore, and a Master of Education (Curriculum & Teaching) degree also from the NIE, Singapore.

DETAILS:

Location: Blk 627 Bukit Batok Central #07-640

Average Class Size: 2-6 students

To register, kindly call or send an sms to 97860411, indicating the Student Name, the Subject and Level.

Posted in A. Math, Educational Advice

Improvement in a student’s math result …

Daniel, one of A. Math tutees, showed me his class test result yesterday: 34/40. The test was on Indices and Surds, Wow, excellent, I said to him. Daniel is from the N(A) stream, and usually fails his Math tests. That he could obtain 34/40 and top his class in just a few weeks of tuition was phenomenal. So I started reflecting on what went right, because there are many students, even those from top schools, who do not make such a giant leap in such a short amount of time.

So what was the major factor contributing to Daniel’s significant improvement? Well, it’s not some secret special technique. In fact, it’s a well-known technique that some students just don’t want to use – ask many, many questions, even “silly” ones, about the same topic until one is satisfied that understanding has been achieved. Daniel even questions me when he doesn’t understand the steps I show him, whereas many students simply copy or write down my solution. Daniel sometimes takes a while to process the information I give to him; he will pause and ponder, and then sheepishly asks a basic question. He will even ask questions periodically to affirm that his steps are correct.

Students need to make meaning out of what they hear or see; it’s not enough to just listen to teachers or observe what they do in class. And you make meaning when you have a dissonance in your mind; some pieces of the jigsaw puzzle don’t fit and you have the courage to ask and then ponder again.

Regarding asking questions, I have one advice though: you must attempt to answer your own questions first, for the struggle to answer your own questions will make it easier for you to understand another person’s explanation.  : )

Good luck!

Rgds,

Ilyasa

Posted in A. Math, Pri Math, Sec Math

“Models (drawing of) destroyed my life.” – Sec 3 Math student

I laughed when he said it. But it’s a significant statement by my Sec 3 Math student made two days ago. It’s something I’ve been warning parents and students about, in my earlier article Beware the Critical Years in Math.

This Sec 3 Math tutee is from a top government secondary school in the west. Being mathematically intelligent, he had found it easy to use models-drawing to solve PSLE Math problems. But he had a hard time coping with Algebra in Sec 1 and Sec 2, and it’s affecting both his Math and A. Math performance now. This situation is not unique to him.

The best years of learning by your brain is probably from the time you were born to just before your teenagehood. Singaporeans around my age or older were taught to use algebraic equations to solve math problems at the PSLE back then. I remember using simultaneous equations in 1984 to solve today’s “guess & check” problems in the PSLE. Thus our algebraic skills were good and it helped us, even those who didn’t do well at the PSLE, in doing O-Level and A-Level Math.

Algebra is SO important for Math at O-level and A-level, yet our dear MOE chooses not to introduce it for problem-solving in today’s PSLE. I still don’t understand why.

It is true that some young students may not be able to understand Algebra, due to it being very abstract. But it is also true that some young students are not visually or spatially intelligent enough to draw, cut and move rectangles to solve problems. For eg, what has rectangles got to do with mass or age? (you know, those problems involving age relationships between persons or mass relationships between objects). Using rectangles or boxes to represent age or mass is just as ridiculous or abstract as using letters such as ‘x’ and ‘y’ as in algebra.

The least the MOE should do is to allow the teaching of BOTH methods to solve problems. Since those boxes start appearing in P2 or P3, algebraic expressions should also be introduced at P2 or P3, algebraic expansion in P4, algebraic factorisation in P5, and algebraic equations in P6. Sec 1 students can straightaway start on algebraic fractions etc. Do we lose anything by introducing algebra earlier in our math curriculum?

I’m glad I started my Sec 1 Algebra course for post-PSLE students in Nov and Dec last year (see Sec 1 Algebra Headstart Holiday Enrichment Programme for post-PSLE students). I think students still don’t realise how ill-prepared they are for math in sec school and JC. I dare say that if you are weak in your S1 and S2 algebra, you don’t have to take Math anymore.

Good Luck.

Rgds,

Ilyasa

(M.Ed., PGDE, B.Sc, ex-teacher, full-time tutor: 97860411)

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TUITION CLASSES:

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EDUCATIONAL SERVICES:

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By EX-MOE TEACHERS & EXPERIENCED TUTORS

@ BLK 644, BUKIT BATOK CENTRAL, #01-68. S(650644).

CALL 65694897 OR SMS 98530744 OR 97860411.

Posted in A. Math, A. Math Tips

Sec 4 A. Math Reflections 02/02/13 – Higher Derivative

Today I taught them the Higher Derivatives, using displacement, velocity and acceleration as real-life examples. I chose not to introduce the 2nd derivative as a means to test whether a turning point is a maximum or minimum, as I preferred to do that when teaching the application of differentiation in tangents and normals at a point in a curve.

Points to note:

(1) students must not write the 2nd derivative as dy^2/dx^2;

(2) d^2y/dx^2 is not the same as (dy/dx)^2;

(3)  d^2y/dx^2 is the same as f”(x) or f^2(x);

(4) there may be product rule, quotient rule or chain rule involved when finding the higher derivatives.

Rgds,

Ilyasa, M.Ed, PGDE, ex-MOE Math and Physics teacher (hp: 97860411)

 

_______________________________________

TUITION CLASSES:

jcbutton          secbutton

ipbutton                    pributton

_______________________________________________________________

EDUCATIONAL SERVICES:

hwsupervbutton                   intensivebutton

alevelprepbutton                   olevelprepbutton

______________________________________________________________

By EX-MOE TEACHERS & EXPERIENCED TUTORS

@ BLK 644, BUKIT BATOK CENTRAL, #01-68. S(650644).

CALL 65694897 OR SMS 98530744 OR 97860411.

Posted in A. Math

Sec 4 A. Math Reflections 26/01/13 – Quotient Rule

I introduced Quotient Rule to the class last week so today we continued with it. Quotient Rule is actually very easy to use and should not be replaced by the Product Rule, even though it’s very convenient for students to write a fraction as a product of two terms.

What students find difficult is in simplifying the resulting expression, which often consists of fractions within fractions, with some terms having a square root sign over it. Of course there is a ‘trick’ to get the factorisation done quickly and correctly, but it’s too cumbersome for me to demonstrate here. More importantly, this difficulty that students often face highlights the point that I’ve posted earlier, that Sec 1 and Sec 2 Algebra is VERY IMPORTANT.

For the next lesson, I’ll be going into the Second Derivative as well as Application of Differentiation to curves, tangents and normal. We may be covering the Chain Rule if we have time.

Rgds,

Ilyasa, M.Ed, PGDE, ex-MOE Math and Physics teacher (hp: 97860411)

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Posted in A. Math, A. Math Tips

Sec 4 A. Math Reflections sat1415 19/01/2013 – Differentiation

This was our third lesson in Jan. We did the Product Rule for Differentiation after spending the last two sessions doing the Basic Rule and the Power Rule (a subset of the chain rule).

I told students to differentiate directly, in line, and not use the “let u = f(x) and v = g(x)” which is longer, more confusing and can cause more careless mistakes.

Now they are able to perform dy/dx = f(x)g'(x) + g(x)f'(x) quite quickly without introducing new variables such u and v which can be quite clumsy. Most of the time, finding dy/dx is part of a larger question, so it is unwise to make this part too long.

I ended the lesson with an intro to the Quotient Rule. Again, I don’t recommend the use of u’s and v’s and instead differentiate directly in line. We’ll be practising the Quotient Rule in the next session.

Again I tell students that Calculus is almost one-third of the A. Math syllabus, so if you want to get A1 you have to master Differentiation and Integration, which, in my opinion (and students hate it every time I say it), are amongst the easiest of topics in A.Math.

However, Integration at the A-Levels (H2 Math) can be quite difficult. But we’ll cross the bridge when we come to it. : )

Ilyasa, M.Ed, PGDE, ex-MOE teacher

(hp: 97860411)

 

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For our latest timetable, click here =>  secbutton

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