Consolidation workshops are for students who have performed poorly in their SA2 exams or in certain topics in their exams. These classes are intended for students to “consolidate” what they have learnt and re-learn if necessary. Such students are encouraged to attend these lessons before attending Headstart lessons.
Sec 1 Algebra: Tuesday, 5 Nov, 3.00 pm – 6.00 pm; Code: S1MC1.
Sec 1 Algebra: Wednesday, 6 Nov, 9.30 am – 12.30 pm; Code: S1MC2.
Sec 2 Algebra: Thursday, 7 Nov, 9.30 am – 12.30 pm; Code: S2MC1.
Sec 2 Algebra: Friday, 8 Nov, 9.00 am – 12.00 pm; Code: S2MC2.
Consolidation classes for Sec 3 A. Math and Physics will be held from 11 Nov to 15 Nov. Details will be published on Tuesday, 5 Nov. Look out for it!
Administrative Matters:
Location: Blk 627, Bukit Batok Central.
Our location is just a 3-min walk from either the Bukit Batok MRT station or the Bukit Batok bus interchange. Buses that stop along the road in front of Blk 627 are numbers 157, 178, 66, 506, 173, 174, 176, 187, 941, 947, 985.
Max Class Size: 6
Fee: $60 for each 3 hr session.
Tutor: Mr Ilyasa (M.Ed., PGDE, B.Sc, Ex-MOE Teacher)
TO REGISTER, SMS <FULL STUDENT NAME>, <CODE> TO 97860411.
For enquiries, kindly call or sms to 9786 0411.
Change in Start Date of Lower Secondary Headstart Programmes to 18 Nov onwards
Dear interested Parents / Students,
I have to postpone the start date of the Secondary Headstart classes to 18 Nov onwards as there is a surge in demand for O-Level, A-Level and IB Math and Physics classes for the next two weeks and we need to free up more lesson slots.
However, from 5 Nov to 15 Nov I have planned a series of Secondary Consolidation classes for students who have performed poorly in this year’s SA2 exams. Students who are weak in Math and Physics should attend these Consolidation classes before attending my Headstart classes. Consolidation classes will focus on THIS YEAR’s topics while Headstart classes are meant for NEXT YEAR’s topics.
Rgds,
Ilyasa
Principal Tutor & CEO, Singapore Learner
Yay, my student finally passed her Sec 2 Math
I have a tutee from Crescent Girls’ who has not been passing her math tests since the middle of her sec 1 year. After one lesson I knew her main problem was doing Algebra. So we had been focusing on Algebra, especially Algebraic Fractions, for the last few months and the effort has paid off. Two topics important for lower sec students to master are Algebra and Indices.
I’ve said elsewhere and here I will say it again – If your Algebra is bad you need not attend Math lessons anymore in secondary school.
A good Indices question for you to try (answer given)
ALGEBRA June Holiday Workshop (Sec 2 Level)
For our latest timetable, click here => 
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ORIGINAL POST(OUTDATED):
TO REGISTER, click here. YOU CAN ALSO SMS OR CALL 97860411
Level/Subject: Sec 2 Algebra
Days: 5th to 6th June (total 6 hrs)
Time: 9.00 am to 12.00 pm
Location: Blk 627 Bukit Batok Central #07-640
Target Group: Suitable for: (1) Sec 2 to Sec 4 students who wish to revise and master intermediate-level algebra; (2) P6 students who wish to learn more about algebra to enhance their PSLE Math problem-solving skills; (3) Sec 1 students who wish to have a headstart in algebra.
Topics: (1) Expansion and factorisation of Algebraic expressions; (2) Simplifying and solving Algebraic Fractions and equations; (3) Solving Simultaneous Linear Equations.
Focus: Conceptual Understanding; Effective Problem-Solving
Format: Lecture + Worksheets + Discussions
Status: Registration has started. TO REGISTER, click here. YOU CAN ALSO SMS OR CALL 97860411
Fees: $120 ($100 if you register by 17 May)
Class Size: 2 to 6 students.
Tutor(s):
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)
TO REGISTER, click here. YOU CAN ALSO SMS OR CALL 97860411
ALGEBRA June Holiday Workshop (Sec Level)
For our latest timetable, click here =>
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ORIGINAL POST(OUTDATED):
TO REGISTER, click here. YOU CAN ALSO SMS OR CALL 97860411
Level/Subject: Sec 1 Algebra
Days: 3rd to 4th June (total 6 hrs)
Time: 9.00 am to 12.00 pm
Location: Blk 627 Bukit Batok Central #07-640
Target Group: Suitable for: (1) Sec 1 to Sec 4 students who wish to revise and master basic algebra; (2) P6 students who wish to learn more about algebra to enhance their PSLE Math problem-solving skills.
Topics: (1) Addition, subtraction, multiplication and division of Algebraic expressions; (2) Simplifying and factorising Algebraic expressions; (3) Solving linear and fractional Algebraic equations.
Focus: Conceptual Understanding
Format: Lecture + Worksheets + Discussions
Status: Registration has started. TO REGISTER, click here. YOU CAN ALSO SMS OR CALL 97860411
Fees: $120 ($100 if you register by 17 May)
Class Size: 2 to 6 students.
Tutor(s):
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)
TO REGISTER, click here. YOU CAN ALSO SMS OR CALL 97860411
“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.
Sec 1 Algebra Headstart Holiday Enrichment Programme for post-PSLE students
For our latest timetable, click here =>
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ORIGINAL POST (OUTDATED):
From my 8 years’ experience coaching secondary students in Math, I found that even students who scored A-star in PSLE Math can end up doing badly in secondary Math. The main reason can be attributed to a poor grasp of Algebraic fundamentals in Sec 1 and Sec 2. Thus I see the need to provide post-PSLE students with a Math programme that introduces them to concepts in Algebra.
The details of the 2-day, 6-hr programme are as follows:
Date/Time (choose one pair of sessions only):
(1) Thurs 15 Nov (4.30 pm to 7.30 pm) and Fri 16 Nov (4.30 pm to 7.30 pm);
(2) Thurs 29 Nov (4.30 pm to 7.30 pm) and Fri 30 Nov (4.30 pm to 7.30 pm);
Location: Blk 627, Bukit Batok Central, 07-640.
Class size: Max 6 students.
Investment amt: $120 total for both days (6 hrs).
Tutor: Mr Ilyasa; M.Ed (NIE), PGDE (NIE), BSc (NUS), A-Level (RI); ex-sch teacher, full-time tutor (8 years) of PSLE, O and A Level Math and Physics.
To book a place in the programme, sms to or call Mr Ilyasa at 97860411.
Related post: Beware the critical years in math education in Singapore …
It’s a pity that negative numbers are not taught in primary math …
Recently I tested two Sec 2 students, who are both very weak in math, on their knowledge of arithmetic involving negative numbers, and the result was what I suspected about lower sec students who are very weak in math. It reminded me of a stint I had giving math enrichment to very weak students in a secondary school. Their stories are the same – inability to handle negative numbers and negative signs in algebraic equations.
If you are in Sec 1, take the following test to see if you have acquired basic mastery of negative numbers. You PASS the test if you can answer every question correctly in not more than 8 SECONDS (yes, ONE SECOND per question). (Note: some qns may not have any negative numbers.)
(a) 5 + 3 = ____
(b) 5 – 3 = ____
(c) – 5 + 3 = ____
(d) – 5 – 3 = ____
(e) 3 + 5 = ____
(f) 3 – 5 = ____
(g) – 3 + 5 = ____
(h) – 3 – 5 = ____
Answers: (a) 8, (b) 2, (c) – 2, (d) – 8, (e) 8, (f) – 2, (g) 2, (h) – 8
If any of your answers are wrong, or you took more than 8 seconds to complete the test correctly, then you need to seriously revise and understand the concept of negative numbers, else your other topics such as algebraic simplification, expansion and factorisation will also be adversely affected. For eg, try the next one:
Simplify – 3a – [- b – (- 2a)]
Ans : b – 5a
Of course there are far harder questions. My point is, get your negative numbers in order, then you’ll see improvement in the way you solve algebraic equations. Remember, you’ll get ZERO marks for just one mistake made in the opening line of your half-page long math solution. So do not underestimate the significance of the negative sign.
The importance of Sec 2 Math and Science …
Beware the critical years in math education …
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For our latest timetable, click here =>