I had very specific goals for Nathan, the second “2” grader I tutored. I wanted to make
sure he learned something that he had previously not known. I also wanted to become more
comfortable and confident in his mathematical skills. I knew ahead of time that we would spend
the vast majority of our time together on solving problems, because that was the only he was
behind in. However, I found out that while he was excellent in his other areas of studies, his math
grade level was lower than his grade.
I very much believe that I achieved these goals. When Nathan had a math test the
following week he got the results he wanted. When Nathan worked with me by himself, he
improved greatly. He was able to solve problems easily, but had a hard time stringing them
together and understanding the whole procedures. For example when I told him to subtract with
decimals he only put one decimal before the last number. However, when I asked him lots of
questions after each problem was solved step by step I would tell give him another problem in
the same format to solve and explain what his steps where. We made an index card for each
mathematical subject saying the procedures and steps with an example.
Now, he and his mother tell me that he is able to keep up, and has done well on the last
two exams. He still needs a little bit of extra time to remember everything, but he is doing much
better. I was very