Talk to Maths Doctor about (online) tutoring - £200 John Lewis voucher prize draw NOW CLOSED

[MichelleMumsnet]

Maths Doctor have asked us to find out what Mumsnetters think about (online) tutoring for children.

Here's what they have to say, "Maths Doctor is the UK's award-winning maths tutoring company with an inspirational approach to teaching. Our one-to-one, private tutorials for students aged 7-18 are delivered live over the Internet using a shared virtual whiteboard and live video feed, so that our 500+ tutors can teach anyone, anytime, anywhere. We're the UK's largest provider of this innovative digital education method that helps boost students' grades."

So, have you ever tried tutoring with your child? If so, why did you decide to get a tutor? Did it help? If not, is it something you'd ever consider? Do you think tutoring is the same as giving your child music or sports lessons, or does it put other children at a disadvantage? What do you think about Maths Doctor's approach with online tutoring? Whatever it is, we'd love to hear your thoughts!

Maths Doctor also want to give six Mumsnetters the chance to trial the Maths Doctor service and share their thoughts on this thread. The Mumsnetters who are selected will receive two free lessons for their child, which will need to be taken before 3rd February. To apply for the free trial please PM me with the age of your DCs and why you would like to trial Maths Doctor before Friday 17th January. We'll then select six Mumsnetters at random.

Maths Doctor may use posts on this thread for further marketing purposes (anonymously, of course), so please only post if you're happy with that.

Everyone who adds their thoughts to this thread will be entered into a prize draw to win a £200 John Lewis voucher.

Thanks and good luck,

MNHQ

PS: For those Mumsnetters who miss out on the free trial, Maths Doctor will also be offering a 20% discount for all subscriptions purchased in January (lessons can be taken at a later date but need to be booked by 31st January). Simply mention the promo code MUMSNET to receive the discount.

[Bubbles85]

Our LO is too young for tutoring at the moment but I think online tutoring is a fab idea as she can learn and I can be there too to help. We can also use it at different times and from the comfort of our own home!

[jodee]

Tester reporting in - we had two free lessons.

1. What did you think of the tutor and tutor matching service? Did you like it? If so, why? If not, why not?

Pros - We were assessed by James; my son was a little nervous speaking at first but James was very easy to talk to. In terms of matching up a tutor with DS, I'm not sure exactly what was done to match DS with someone who perhaps was familiar with his needs, he has attention and processing issues, DS was asked if he would prefer younger/older male/female and I think he was guided by his current teacher at school being young/female. The tutor was very friendly and put no pressure on DS at all.

Cons - When we had the initial call to arrange the assessment, it would have been helpful to talk through the whole assessment process and what to expect, I was told it would be 15 mins but it was over half an hour. Also, how the online tutoring would work - I didn't realise DS would need the tablet and pen to write with, this was only mentioned at the conclusion of the assessment (Sunday evening) and our first lesson was the following Tuesday afternoon and they hadn't sent the tablet and pen to us in the post. It was just as well I had the day off on Tuesday to receive the package from the postman, and I would have liked to have had more time to set it all up before the 4.30pm lesson. So DS didn't have any time to practice with it after he came in from school.

2. What did you think of the online format? Did you like it? If so, why? If not, why not?

DS did like the online format, it is similar to some of his online maths games, but it did take him some time to get to grips with the pen and our internet signal wasn't great at times, so we had to ask the tutor to repeat things. In the end she turned her image off so we just had sound. I don't think this would work well for us in the long term.


3. If you've had experience with face to face tutoring, how does it compare? Do you prefer it or not? If so, why? If not, why not?

We have tried a free assessment with DS at a centre near to us, but DS didn't enjoy it and was stressed by the experience, so it suited him to sit at the kitchen table (in his PJs for one lesson!) It was also a lot more expensive with the face to face tutor and it would be easier in terms of timings to go online. DS had Skype on his tablet to hear the tutor's voice but he didn't want her to see him! So I don't know if this was harder for the tutor to interact with DS or not.

4. Do you think it has helped your child? If so, how?

Possibly - DS needs to go over and over a topic for it to set into his mind, we concentrated on a topic that he was weak on, area and circumference, and DS seemed to 'get it' in the second lesson.

5. If it came up in conversation would you recommend the service to friends or family? If so, why? If not, why not?

I think it would suit a child who doesn't adjust well to social interaction but the child would have to be really motivated, and want to learn.

As another poster has said, I also don't know the maths curriculum and agree it would be useful to know what specific topics DS was struggling with, what he had/hadn't covered.

[MichelleMumsnet]

Hi all - thanks to everyone who's posted on this thread with their thoughts. The thread has now closed. The winner of the prize draw for a £200 John Lewis voucher is hunhun007, congratulations!