Abu Dhabi in maths crisis: websites to help your children

A look at online services that offer maths tutorials. Why maths? Because almost half of the children (kindergarten to grade 12) living in Abu Dhabi take private maths lessons after school, according to a 2013 survey by the Adec.

Kay Jones-Swift with her 6-year-old twins, Mia and Annabel, who are frequent users of Mathletics and find it a fun way to practise maths. Fatima Al Marzooqi / The National

As a parent, you want to know that your children are getting all the help they can in key subjects. And if maths is one of the subjects you’re concerned about, you are not alone. Almost half of the children (kindergarten to grade 12) living in Abu Dhabi take private maths lessons after school, according to a survey last year by the Abu Dhabi Education Council (Adec).

This reflects a growing worldwide trend of supplementing school classes with tuition at home. However, paid, private tuition is discouraged by Adec. Instead, parents are encouraged to sign their kids up for remedial classes held at school.

One way parents can provide extra support within the comfort of their home is to use online services that offer tutorials designed to complement school curriculums. For maths, one such service is www.ixl.com. Membership costs Dh40 per month, making it much cheaper than maths tuition with a qualified instructor, which can set parents back between Dh200 and Dh300 a class.

John Barth, the technical marketing leader for IXL Learning, explains how it works: “IXL is the web’s most complete K to 12 maths-practice site. Each skill adapts to the student’s individual proficiency level, so as students learn, get questions correct and improve their score, the questions will progressively get more difficult. When students get a question wrong, they’ll see an explanation of how they should have solved that question. That way, they can learn from their mistakes and continue practising to reinforce new concepts.”

Aaron Sorensen uses ixl.com with his 9-year-old son Lucas, who is a student at the American International School in Abu Dhabi.

“It’s a good chance for them to focus on their weaknesses and for them to continue ahead if they understand something when the rest of the class doesn’t. It has really helped Lucas; he’s now far ahead in his class. He may have acted up a bit from boredom if he hadn’t had this website to work on.”

Another popular programme is Mathletics, by 3P Learning, which recently moved its Middle East headquarters to Abu Dhabi. The service is open to individuals (annual membership per child costs £39 or Dh245), as well as schools.

Sara Al Haq, the Middle East Account manager for 3P Learning, says students love earning the inbuilt rewards and certificates, which encourages them to keep practising.

“They also love the fact that they can use it on iPads and Android mobile devices,” explains Al Haq, adding that Mathletics is aligned to a host of curriculums including that of the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, Primary Years Phase, Middle Years Phase, and IGCSE.

One school that has signed up to use the programme is the British School Al Khubairat in Abu Dhabi.

Suyun Quan is mother to Sophie, 7, and Katherine, 9, both students at the school. “I teach my kids at home after school and I use teaching aids from China. I found Mathletics too simple for them. And since Sophie got awarded her certificate for getting 3,000 points, she doesn’t want to do it anymore.”

But Kay Jones-Swift, mum to twins Mia and Annabel, 6, and Clara, 3, has had a positive experience with Mathletics.

“My kids weren’t encouraged to do anything like this by their school when we were back in the UK. But here, they use Mathletics all the time. I like the fact that it is instant – you’re not waiting for someone to turn up and you can fit it into your own schedule. They enjoy the games, which makes it entertaining for them. It’s like a treat and I say to them: ‘You can only go on it if you’re good.’”