Confidence In Maths

The ability for a learner to achieve in maths is not based simply on skills and knowledge, it is far more reaching than that. Confidence is a key to achievement.

The learner needs to believe in themselves, to understand that they can achieve and that they do have all the skills and knowledge in place to prove themselves. This is where a tutor can help with one-to-one discussions on helping the learner show what they know. The knowledge and skills are there, the learner just needs the confidence to show what they know.

Maths is one of the most unforgiving subjects to study as there is always the possibility of getting the final answer wrong, despite having put in a lot of effort on the way. Getting the answer wrong is interpreted as failure by the learner, whose confidence in then shattered and who is then reluctant to engage in trying to find out where things went wrong. This failure is usually due to just a little slip on the way, which can easily be put right with a one-to-one discussion and the learner can see that 99% of the answer was correct, so they have not failed at all.

No learner likes to fail so encouraging confidence is crucial to the development of a positive attitude in maths. If a mis-understanding can be overturned this can help skills building in the subject and confidence restored.

This resource was uploaded by: Stephanie