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What maths course can I get onto when I'm REALLY bad at it?

151 replies

MathsStruggle · 21/07/2022 14:34

Hi all,

I should've done this years ago, but not having my maths GCSE is actually limiting me from starting a career I'd like to do.

I'm just wondering what course I could get onto which would be for beginners but where I could eventually go on to do my GCSE. There is no way I'd pass the maths test to get onto a GCSE course.

I've seen a 'Maths for Work and Study' course but I'm worried I'm just so bad that no course can help me :(

Any advice?

OP posts:
Thread gallery
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MathsStruggle · 12/10/2022 00:00

I do think I'm just thick though! But thank you x

OP posts:
GingerbreadPanda · 12/10/2022 00:59

You can put decimals in your fractions, it's probably not the answer they want, but it's not wrong. The fraction just means divide and you can divide any number, even if it's a decimal.
1.5/4 is the same as 3/8 because you can multiply top and bottom buy the same number and it's the same fraction, so (1.5 x 2) / (4 x 2) = 3/8

I'd look at it like this:
The line 0-1 has been split into 4 segments (quarters), Mark on a line 0-3/4.
Mark on the mid point of the 0-3/4 line.
There is no line at this point.
Split each segment (quarter) in half (eighths).
There is now a line at your midpoint mark.
Count that there are 3/8 between 0 and the midpoint mark.

Or alternatively:
Each marked segment is 1/4.
If I split each in half I have 8 segments of 1/8.
First colour on the 3/4.
For each quarter (the original segments) that you have coloured, Mark half (a 1/8 segment).
Count that there are 3 x 1/8 segments marked, so 3/8.

Or:
1/2 of 3/4
= 1/2 x 3/4
= (1 x 3) / (2 x 4)
= 3/8

BadNomad · 12/10/2022 02:23

I usually find images make things easier to understand, so hopefully this will help.

And I know this is just repeating what others have said, but...

The line is divided into 4 (quarters). It starts 0/4 and ends at 4/4.

The question wants to know what is halfway between 0 and 3/4.
That halfway point lies between 1/4 and 2/4.
Half way between 1 and 2 is 1.5.

Therefore, the fraction is 1.5/4

However, we like to use whole numbers when using fractions. You can make this a whole number by multiplying the fraction by 2 (whatever you do to the top number, you have to do to the bottom number).

2 x 1.5 = 3
2 x 4 = 8

Hence, the answer is 3/8

What maths course can I get onto when I'm REALLY bad at it?

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

katmarie · 12/10/2022 06:17

Op another way to work this out would be to draw the line on squared paper, using 2 squares for each section. You then have a visual representation of quarters, broken down into 8ths. Each quarter is made up of 2 8ths. The reason your are using 2 squares for each section is because you are looking for half of something. If you were looking for a third of something you would use 3 squares per section, for a quarter use 4 squares per section etc.

So you would have, on your line 4 quarters as the original line, broken down into 8 8ths. Put your marker on the 3/4 point, where the questiin is aski g you to start, and then find the middle point between your marker and 0. Count the number of the smaller squares up to the middle point you have just set. There will be 3. So the top half of your fraction is 3. Because you are counting the smaller squares you are counting 8ths, so the bottom part of your fraction will be 8. Answer = 3/8.

stopblocking · 12/10/2022 06:55

Just to say you are definitely not think OP. I couldn't do this and I've got lots of qualifications.

NeverDropYourMooncup · 12/10/2022 07:04

MouseTheDog · 21/07/2022 14:39

Look for functional skills courses - the one you mentioned may be a functional skills qual with a different course name. Functional skills goes from entry level 1 which is basically what 5-7 year olds do, up to level 2 which is GCSE equivalent. If you happen to be in the West Miss pm me as I work in a College that offers these quals.

We also taught pre entry for some learners because there wasn't a course for them at all. Most were entry 2 - level 1.

You really won't be the person with the most progress to make, OP.

MathsStruggle · 12/10/2022 08:00

Thank you everyone!
That all makes sense now.
I just honestly could not work it out.

I'll go away and practice :)

OP posts:
Ballocks · 12/10/2022 08:28

What a great thread - keep going OP 💪

FinallyHere · 12/10/2022 11:28

This is an interesting thread, to see how different people work things out differently.

I struggled with the visual representation until @katmarie 's version which I could follow. My preferred way was

Halfway from zero to <anything> will be half the <anything>

In this case <anything> is 3/4

Half of 3/4 is 3/8 (multiply the denominator by two)

So I'd get the right answer but would struggle to show my working in that picture.

katmarie picked up on the 'half' and then showed how to break the diagram into units that can be divided by two which makes everything easier.

Having another way to work out the answer (algebra as I showed above) is helpful as it makes it possible to check your answers. That's the thing I love about maths. You can check yourself and know whether the answer is correct.

Ince you get the truck of that, your confidence will build and you will start to feel you are in top of it. What keeps it interesting is that there will always be something else that you won't know how to do so we can keep on learning. All the best .

MathsStruggle · 12/10/2022 12:06

My teacher sent me this: 1/2 x 3/4 = 3/8

It is amazing how other people work it out. I'll need to find the way that works for me.

I tend to panic and then I can't do it. Especially in class when the teacher gives us a small amount of time to work something out and then chooses who to ask for the answers.
I'm sitting there having heart palpitations if I have no bloody idea!

And then if they don't ask me I am relieved. Go home, spend days doing the homework and forget it all afterwards!

OP posts:
AlwaysWorrying32 · 12/10/2022 12:07

How do you revise maths? I've literally never revised for maths before...

MapleLeafForever · 12/10/2022 12:45

One thing that might help is to know some of the language around maths:

"of" almost always means "multiply (times)"

So if you are finding half of something, that means half times something, and if you have done multiplying fractions, then you could do it like that (as in the example your teacher sent). To multiply fractions, you just multiply the tops and the bottoms of your fractions.

That would be quite a hard way of doing it at this stage of understanding fractions, though - they are probably more wanting you to get an idea of what quarters and eighths look like, and how they relate to each other, and what equivalent fractions are, rather than having to do written calculations on them.

If you haven't done multiplying fractions, I think the visual methods are easier. Mark your 3/4 point on a number line, as people have shown. You can then see where the half way point is on the number line. Because it is halfway between the 1/4 and the 2/4, you are going to have to divide the number line into more than four bits. If you divide the whole space equally into eight bits instead of four, then your 3/4 mark will show you that it is the same as 6/8. That's quite an important thing to understand, as it shows you what equivalent fractions are - the same amount can be written as 3/4 or 6/8.

Having eight pieces will make your 'halfway point' fall exactly on one of the dividing lines, rather than in between. Then you can see that your half way point is three of those bits. The line is split into eight equal pieces, so each piece is an eighth, and you have three of them, so three-eighths (which is 3/8; or also the same as saying 3 out of 8).

mightihaveacakeplease · 12/10/2022 12:52

Thank you for starting this thread Op!

I was very excited to get the questions you asked right Grin but I too stumbled on the wording of the one you struggled with (the one with 40 as an answer)

I'm wondering if anyone can advise why they word maths questions so awkwardly? They can't be testing comprehension as it just isn't sensible to make things so hard to grasp from the odd

For what it's worth OP, I left school in 2014 with an A* in English. My maths was a Level G, something like that. I just remember it being lower than a D

I'm horrendously poor at maths!

titchy · 12/10/2022 13:00

Think of that number mine as a Colin the caterpillar cake. It's currently divided into four equal pieces (quarters, 1/4s) because you have four children coming to the party. All the parents are CFs and have bought along a younger sibling too, so you now have to divide the cake into eights (1/8s). Now you can count the number of segments that is the exact halfway point between 0 and 3/4.

MathsStruggle · 12/10/2022 13:07

titchy · 12/10/2022 13:00

Think of that number mine as a Colin the caterpillar cake. It's currently divided into four equal pieces (quarters, 1/4s) because you have four children coming to the party. All the parents are CFs and have bought along a younger sibling too, so you now have to divide the cake into eights (1/8s). Now you can count the number of segments that is the exact halfway point between 0 and 3/4.

And this is how I learn 😂😂😂

OP posts:
Ballocks · 12/10/2022 13:11

Brilliant @titchy 😂

That example shows maths is used by all of us, every day. Instead of thinking of it in abstract terms, context is a good way to get your head about what’s being asked.

yellowbananasinjuly · 12/10/2022 18:01

Also, if you are panicking if you think you cant understand in maths class, then your brain literally shuts down which is the same reason why we can only think of the 'perfect' answer to say to someone who's nasty and taken us by surprise after the event.

So try to stay calm if you can! You a) are most definitely NOT thick, and b) its only maths !!! x

Singleandproud · 12/10/2022 18:15

@MathsStruggle I'm glad your course is going well. BBC bitesize is a great resource for maths skills from Reception onwards.

Khan Academy is also a brilliant resource, free to sign up to and it's intention is to make free education available to everyone, its based in America though so some techniques may be different to what is taught in the UK.

You are very down on your self. The word 'yet' is very powerful, "I can't do that, yet" is much better than "I'm rubbish at maths".

If you find maths really, really difficult look into dyscalculia, it's basically a maths version of dyslexia and depending on your age may not have been something teachers were looking out for whilst you were at school.

stopblocking · 12/10/2022 19:07

Just out of interest are there any tests/assessments for dyscalculia?

Singleandproud · 12/10/2022 20:58

@stopblocking this is a do-it-yourself online screen test and gives some more information. Unfortunately I have no idea how you would go about getting a diagnosis as an adult, perhaps through Occupational Therapy or the Send department of at College.

MathsStruggle · 12/10/2022 20:58

I'd love to look into dyscalculia, but I'm concerned that if I don't have it I'd feel even worse about myself than I do currently!

Say I do have it, would there be certain allowances made? Like longer in the exam etc?

Maths tonight. Every lesson I realise how far behind I am. How much I have to work on. And I just feel overwhelmed. Massive Fractions homework, each page is different and different ways of doing things, i struggle to grasp it all.
Hopefully I'll be feeling differently once I've done it.

I'm wondering if I should ask to be moved to Entry level 3 instead of Level 1. Maybe if I had the foundations right I wouldn't be finding this all so bloody hard???

My teacher believes in me though, that's the problem! She's probably the only one who ever has. Oh god, why am I crying right now?!

Today, in class when I wasn't able to follow what was being taught it reminded me of school. Just feeling left behind and stupid whilst everyone else understands.

This is my Everest :(

OP posts:
Singleandproud · 12/10/2022 21:13

If you got diagnosed with dtscalculia the practical benefits would be potential extra time or support in tests. I don't know if it counts as a disability but could help you get interviews under disability legislation if it is.

Emotionally you would know that you are not rubbish at maths but you have an additional learning need which I would hope improve your self esteem.

Dyscalculia isn't just about your grasp of maths, it also involves telling time, judging time, being late/early to things, driving too fast / slow, spatial awareness etc.

People that have Dyscalculia also often have ADHD which many adults struggled through school without any diagnosis because it was only thought to present as hyperactivity but now it's known that it can present in many different ways.

Luredbyapomegranate · 12/10/2022 21:18

Ring up your local college - they will tell you what their pre GCSE course are. It’ll be an established path. Plenty of people are in your situation.

PinkPencilCase · 12/10/2022 21:42

It's difficult because you're learning to answer the questions as much as (or even more than) you're learning maths. I got an A at maths A level but had no clue how to answer that first question about checking 11+3=14. It just is! Maybe I would have drawn a number line? Or a picture of counting along on my fingers 😂

I also didn't follow the first response you got about the half of three quarters question. No offence to the author, that's just not how my mind works.

Keep at it, I'm sure you can do it! You just need to get it all to click in the way that works for you.

mrwalkensir · 12/10/2022 21:54

for additional support - KhanAcademy on youtube is great. Also of course www.nationalnumeracy.org.uk/