feiri

Hello everyone!

I've taken on the task of tutoring a Grade 12 student in International Baccalaureate Mathematics (Standard Level).

I do not have any formal background in teaching, and I haven't been paid to tutor before. I am fairly confident in my own skills in the subject, but will have to brush up anyway. It's a job I would like to do well in, and so part of my preparation for this task is to inquire about people's experiences with tutoring, specifically in Mathematics, but other relevant experiences are also welcome.

I don't have anything in particular I'd like to know, but I am curious about other people's experiences with math tutoring, whether as a student or as the tutor. Did tutoring seem to be effective? Were there any standout stories or lessons you've learned from a tutoring experience? What are some things that you disliked about tutoring?

Thank you for reading, and many extra thanks to anyone who responds!

This is an awfully pedantic question about pedagogy which I'll illustrate with an example.

I want to explain the concept of "cryptographic keys" to high school/university-level students.

I can imagine approaching this in two different ways:

- "Cryptographic keys are ..."

- "A cryptographic key is ..."

On the surface level, these two openers are barely any different, but I wonder if using the plural version ("XYZ are ...") incurs a greater mental debt on a learner. When a concept is referred to in its plural form, it takes on a much more abstract image when I try to visualize it in my mind, which for me is more difficult to work with. On the other hand, a concept referred to as a singular instance ("An XYZ is ...") collapses down into a single unit, which I think is easier for me to mentally visualize.

I guess in a sense, a plural form concept is to a wall as a singular instance of a concept is to a brick (or at least that's how I imagine it might feel to a learner).

What do you guys think about this, and are there any pedagogy studies about this? I tried finding some online but my Google-fu is failing. Might be time to try ChatGPT.