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Original poster

Which Maths topics do you not get?

36 replies

Tatiana11235 · 04/05/2016 16:52

Hi, I've applied for PGCE Further Education and Training in Mathematics and have been invited for an interview - yay! Grin
Now I need to prepare and would like to ask you all lovely people to help me out. My final aim is to teach adults rather than children.
So the questions I would like to ask are: Which Maths topics have you never cottoned on to? If you hate Maths why do you think that is? Which Maths topics do you think are useful to you?
Many thanks for your assistance and time Flowers

OP posts:
DoubleNegativePanda · 04/05/2016 18:26

Algebra. Jesus, that was rough. My daughter struggles with it as well and has just failed her algebra class and will be taking it again in summer courses.

Algebra is the devil's own subject at school.

MarthaCliffYouCunt · 04/05/2016 18:20

She made it clear that her goal was for us to leave each class understanding what we had covered and that if it meant going over it again and again then thats what she did, and she didnt begrudge it at all. She made everything into tiny steps and didnt take it as criticism if someone said she was going a bit too fast. She happily either went back to where they understood it or would speak with them separately to go over it again if the rest of the class was managing ok.
There was never a time where we felt she had made too big a jump to the next part of a question or topic. Also what was really helpful was that everything she did on the interactive whiteboard during class was uploaded to our student portal to help with our homework. It meant we were looking at the exact thing we had done in class rather than trying to use a text book that used a different method. We also used mymaths for homework as well. And we went through loads of old practise papers to get comfortable with how the test questions were laid out.

Original poster
Tatiana11235 · 04/05/2016 17:53

Martha, what made the teacher you had stand out? What was it that he/she did differently from the teacher you had at school?
Sorry to bombard you with questions like that Flowers

OP posts:
MarthaCliffYouCunt · 04/05/2016 17:45

Yes i loved the maths. It was my first go at maths since secondary school when i hated it and just couldnt process it at all. But my access course was brilliant. Good teachers make all the difference. I've kept all my notes and handouts to go back through it all again, i enjoyed it so much. Am thinking about studying maths a bit further.

Original poster
Tatiana11235 · 04/05/2016 17:40

Martha, it makes perfect sense. Triginometric identities can be most confusing. Did you enjoy the maths course overall?

OP posts:
Original poster
Tatiana11235 · 04/05/2016 17:38

Great, thank you for your responses!

DrDre, I've graduated with a first class in Maths but I totally fluked my way through integration by substitution Grin it's a massive PITA!

Say you had time and opportunity and desire to strengthen yout numeracy skills, what would you choose to study again?

OP posts:
MarthaCliffYouCunt · 04/05/2016 17:30

I did an adult access course last year (that included maths) and i struggled with the stuff that looks like this:

cos•(tan-sin)
-----
2Tan(cos)

^^all a pure bollocks example as i cant recall any of the real ones

•= theta
*= squared

Hope that makes sense although maybe not the kind of thing you meant?

DrDreReturns · 04/05/2016 17:24

I could never do some integration by substitution questions. And anything to do with proofs made my eyes glaze over!

n0ne · 04/05/2016 17:22

Probability always did my nut in. It just doesn't seem logical!

Peebles1 · 04/05/2016 17:20

Ooh that sent too soon! Meant to say 'I can do long division, for example, but not the way they teach it now'.

Peebles1 · 04/05/2016 17:19

I'm 48 so maybe a little old, but was ok at maths (not my strongest subject but fine). When my DCs went to school my biggest problem was that they teach different methods now. Knowing the new methods would have been the most useful to me in terms of helping them. I can do l

Good luck!!