Science Tuition Singapore / Science Tutors for Pri, Sec, JC, IB, IP

You would have realised by now that having good knowledge of science concepts taught in the syllabus is only half the battle won. Students will need consistent practice and exposure to a wide variety of science questions so as not to have any unpleasant surprises during an important examination.

Just like the training of fitness of your physical body, doing consistently the same exercises will only make certain muscle groups work better. You need to do a variety of different exercises to train different parts of your muscles to be in excellent shape.

The same principles apply when mastering science; students will need to be strategic in their learning, where different skills are taught and honed, although the focus might be on one core topic. For instance, for the topic of energy, students not only need to be aware of the basic principles but also demonstrate the ability to design experiments, perform calculations and analyse data that is given to formulate their conclusions and be able to communicate them clearly.

As your child progresses to upper secondary and junior colleges science, there is also a practical lab component which forms part of the assessment. As with all hands-on activities, time is needed to practise and develop the learning aptitudes to ace this portion. Some of it includes paying attention to details, as mistakes such as misreading instructions can cause students to fail their practical science exam. Students will also need to be familiar with the handling of science apparatus.

However, given the limited classroom time in a school environment, most teachers might already be rushing through the science syllabus to cover all concepts on time. They are simply insufficient time to break down and explain the science concepts clearly, not to mention the time to incorporate different questions or delve deeper into topics. Science lab lessons in class are also often rushed and do not offer sufficient time to truly spur the students’ curiosity to seek out additional information, which can help them to have a deeper comprehension of the scientific principles behind the lab sessions.

In a class of 20 to 30 students, the teacher rarely has time to address the individual questions and doubts that each student has to clear up their misconceptions or answer their burning questions. The student’s learning is curtailed if there is no reliable alternative resource, such as a good science tutor to guide them in science. This can potentially become a vicious cycle as students might perform badly in their exams, and without proper guidance, they might lose interest and confidence in the subject and, worse, harbour the incorrect thinking that they are simply “lousy” or “bad” in science.

Lastly, the school teacher uses the standard science answer key to go through the questions in the worksheet for all students, they do not have the chance to provide individualised feedback on your child’s work. For instance, when both students have obtained zero marks for the same question, one might have failed to analyse the data correctly, whereas another might not have understood the question at all. If they had personalised help such as science tuition, the tutor would have pinned down the exact problem to lessen the chance of the child making the same mistake in an exam. Effective feedback is crucial for improvement.

Originally published at https://tutorcity.sg.