The Math GuyFrequently Asked Questions
Everything parents ask us about our online IP math classes.
What is the syllabus like?
There's no fixed syllabus. We take a survey of our students before each class and teach according to what's being covered in school.
Do you provide notes and summaries?
We provide all the material that will be needed during lessons, mainly practice questions. However, we don't provide notes and summaries — this prevents students from relying on them as crutches.
What is your teaching methodology like?
We run through questions to find gaps in understanding. Where we find these gaps, we provide concise explanations and test again with more questions to see if the problems have been addressed. We repeat this process until students have a solid understanding of the material. You can read more about our approach in Why We Insist on Teaching Online.
How do I enrol / make payment?
Please drop us a WhatsApp at 9782 0279 to indicate your interest to enrol. We'll ask you to send your child's contact number so we can add him/her to the group chat where the Zoom link is sent before each lesson.
Payment is collected at the start of each month before the first lesson and can be made via PayNow or PayLah. If the student is unable to attend a lesson, he/she may attend the other available classes during the week. If this is not possible, there will not be a refund. If we have to make any cancellations, we will initiate refunds accordingly.
How many students per class?
There is a maximum of 6 students per class.
What is school-specific IP Math Tuition?
For students in IP Schools, joining a tuition class that caters to the express syllabus might be problematic. This is due to the IP syllabus being not only accelerated, but more in depth as well. For example, Raffles Institution (RI) and Hwa Chong Institution (HCI) are known for their intense pace and challenging math questions, so it will be helpful to find a tuition class that keeps abreast with their syllabus.
Grouping IP school students together addresses some of these challenges. So for instance, you may find St Nicholas Girls' School (SNGS) students and Nanyang Girls' High (NYGH) students in the same tuition class under some arrangements. However, different IP schools cover different topics at different times. So Catholic High School (CHS), Victoria Secondary (VS) and Methodist Girls' School (MGS) students may all be covering coordinate geometry in Year 3, but at different times of the year.
Furthermore, schools may group parts of different topics differently from other schools — Raffles Girls' School (RGS) has a topic called Graphs 3, which is a unique combination of several topics in the standard textbook.
Therefore, we separate our students not only by year, but by school as well, to ensure we can deliver precise instruction at the right time to address their specific academic needs.
How different is the IP math syllabus compared to Express schools?
The main differences are the depth and pace of the content covered. While many IP schools like Victoria Secondary (VS) and Dunman High School (DHS) do have a recommended textbook for students to use as reference, it is rarely used in school — and even if it is, they do not follow the order of the topics. The teachers instead rely on school notes and worksheets unique to each school.
National Junior College (NJC) has a strong math programme, and it's evident in the level of difficulty of even the questions given to IP Year 1 students. Find a math tutor who is experienced enough to slow down the pace if necessary so that the escalation in difficulty is more manageable for the student. Don't be afraid to seek help.