Educational Articles Archives - Bandar Mahkota Cheras Home Tuition by I-Tuition

March 30, 2019March 30, 2019

5 Reasons Why You Should Use Multimedia For Education In Malaysia

Nowadays at restaurants or cafés, turn left or right and you’ll be sure to find someone fiddling with their smart phones. Look harder and you’ll see that children are doing the same. Most of the children watch YouTube anyways. But, with all these gadgets filling up our spare time, it’s bound to be bad right? Wrong! Sure, too much of something is bad. But we can turn it into something that can be useful to the children and students in school. Multimedia has come a long way since the older generation had left school. Nowadays, kindergartens and international schools use interactive multimedia to teach children. Still not convinced? I’ll tell you why you should be.

#1 Language skills

As a student or a teacher, presentations can either be nerve-wrecking or boring. But using multimedia as a tool for presentation can help students develop the confidence they require to boost language skills. As the only way to improve your language is to use it! Allow your students to pick a topic they like and present it in front of the class. They can conduct research prior to the presentation and put it in interactive formats available on Google Drive or even PowerPoint. With this opportunity, students can focus on their language delivery, content and organization while being creative in their own way.

#2 Choice

What do I mean by choice? Look, writing essays and reports weren’t everyone’s favourite homework task back in school. And with written work, students cannot expand their creativity with ‘given formats’ on how you should write your essay. However, students can use multimedia to showcase their content knowledge to a whole new level. This provides students the means to display their level of understanding through videos and pictures while being able to tackle the topic in a holistic manner. Whereas with written work, all the teacher sees are words. And occasionally, grammatical errors.

#3 Mobility

This, I’m sure everyone can agree on. Students, teachers, parents, board of governors. Did I mention students? Textbooks. Heaving 7 to 8 textbooks on top of exercise books to school every day was a chore. Heck, it was like exercising if your classroom was on the top floor. With multimedia, all those books you let your students heave can be put into one tablet. Face it, we are a world on-the-go. Information is always at the tip of our fingers. By imploring school syllabus into tablets, learning can take place anywhere and anytime. And instead of asking your students to write an essay about Hang Tuah, how about watch a video and learn something from him.

#4 Individuality and Collaboration

Every student learns differently. Some are fast and others are slow. Some can read it off the book and remember while others take time. That’s how multimedia can help. Students who are more of visual learners can benefit best when the teacher shows visual aids in the form of videos or interactive materials. Same goes for auditory learners, they learn quick by ear. One round of listening and it’s already in their heads. Whereas not too long ago, whether you learn better visually or through audio, all we had were books. A lot of books.

Not to mention, Montessori had established peer learning or collaborative learning. This is where students teach other students. Students can start social sites which allow others to interact with them, learn and teach each other. This can be as small as school-based or even nation-wide as long as language barriers are dropped. Teachers, you can even go on Twitter to collaborate with other fellow teachers, learn the latest trends on teaching and integration.

#5 Flexibility

Now this technically goes hand in hand with mobility. Like you and your textbook, flexibility and mobility are practically married. As I was saying, back in the day, students were pretty much glued to their textbooks when they want to study. If there was a topic you would like to stretch further in class that wasn’t covered in the textbook, it was pretty much impossible.

Today however, it is very much the opposite. Through the internet, you can further your students’ knowledge through the help of multimedia. For example, research used to be done at home or at libraries because classrooms never had computers. Even if they did, it would be one computer shared among 30 students. Sharing is caring, but not in this case. With a tablet for each student, they can learn anytime, anywhere, by themselves.

At Mahkota Cheras Home Tuition, we encourage our students to learn with the aid of multimedia to make the learning process more enjoyable.

Get quotation from us below and our tutor will get in touch with you shortly.

March 22, 2019

3 Main Differences Of IGCSE And SPM In Malaysia

Whether you’re a parent or a student, your grade should mean something to you. An A+? An A*? What does it all mean? Sijil Peperiksaan Malaysia (SPM) is the final exam we all take before we leave high school. Or is it? Some parents and their children may opt for IGCSE or International General Certificate of Secondary Education. Before you grunt off assuming that one of them is better than the other, it won’t hurt to know the difference. Maybe after this, you’ll have a change of view and of heart.

SPM and IGCSE are both final examinations taken near the end of a student’s life in high school. SPM as you all know is local. IGCSE originated from the UK and Cambridge ICGSE is the world’s most popular examination here in Malaysia according to The Edge Malaysia (2018).

#1 The Grades

In Form 5, students sit for SPM and receive grades as results. These results help determine whether the student will qualify for tertiary education such as diploma, sixth form, matriculation, or foundation. The grades awarded for subjects in SPM are A+, A, A-, B+, B, C+, C, D, E and G.

As a minimum requirement to further your studies and receive your certificate of education, every student will need to receive a minimum of grade C for their Bahasa Malaysia and History. Not only that, you will also need an extra minimum of three more ‘C’s to qualify for tertiary education.

In Cambridge IGCSE, they are awarded A*, A, B, C, D, E, F or G. That’s not all, if the examiners feel your performance is below the lowest grade (G), you will be awarded a ‘U’, which stands for ungraded. The perks of IGCSE is that though you may still need a minimum of a Grade C to further your studies, certain courses do not tie you down to passing compulsory subjects like Bahasa Malaysia and History.

#2 The Fees

We all know local education in Malaysia costs close to nothing. Sure you have school fees to pay but that’s really about it. Sitting for SPM is practically free apart from buying exercise books, stationery and offerings for prayers to make sure luck is on your side. This was and is till this day to ensure that most Malaysians would have their SPM to qualify for a better lifestyle.

In contrast, some parents would opt for the more premium choice of education. IGCSE would cost parents RM24,000 to RM100,000 annually for the upper secondary level range depending on the number of subjects they take and how many extra classes they enrol for.

Worry not, there is a cheaper alternative. Private learning centres or as Malaysians call it ‘Tuition Centre’ and home-schooling charge around RM8,400 to RM24,000 annually.

Of course, it comes with its downsides. When you enrol in a school, all the paperwork is done by the administrative team and teachers. Those going under private centres would have to register as private candidates.

Also, it is obvious that sitting for SPM is free along with the different papers that you sit for. They are free of charge. However, each IGCSE paper your child sits for may cost you from RM600 to a whopping RM2,800.

#3 The Subjects

Ask anyone who has taken SPM, there’ll be at least 7 subjects that are compulsory to take. Ask the ones that strive to be the best in their class, some might have taken a maximum of 12 subjects.

The basic compulsory subjects each child will need to take are Bahasa Malaysia, Bahasa Inggeris, History, Mathematics, Moral Education or Islamic Education. Now if you’re in science stream, you may need to take Chemistry and Biology/Physics or both. If you are in the arts stream, you take science.

Other popular subjects taken by students sitting for SPM include Account Principle, Basic Economy, and Business. For those in science stream, they usually have Additional Mathematics, English for Science and Technology, and Information Technology.

In IGCSE, students have a wider variety of subjects to choose from. Bear in mind, Malaysian students sitting for IGCSE will have to sit for one SPM paper. Can you guess? Bahasa Malaysia. And yes, you must score a minimum C.

So, courses in IGCSE include Bahasa Malaysia, English Language, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Business Studies, Accounting, English Literature, Accounting, History and Geography as well as Additional Mathematics.

There isn’t a minimum number of subjects but students are advised to do 6 – 8 subjects.

Hopefully, this is enough to convince you whether or not to enrol your child in IGCSE or to let them sit for SPM. If you are opting for the more costly alternative, remember to check out the school’s reputation and feedback from other parents as to ensure your child receives top notch education for the amount that you’re spending.

At I-Tuition, we ensure our students master the right skills to do well in their school whether if they are pursuing IGCSE or SPM in Malaysia.

Get quotation from us below and our tutor will get in touch with you shortly.

March 22, 2019March 22, 2019

How To Choose The Best Tuition Centre For You Or Your Kids In Malaysia

As Malaysian parents, we love seeing our children excel. And by excelling I mean performing well in school, acing each and every minor and major examinations. This phenomenon even developed into a culture, known as being ‘kiasu’, which literally means afraid of losing out.

No offence, but I have to admit that it’s rather true that Asian Malaysian parents have rather high expectations for their kids, academically. It’s okay if others misunderstand us and make fun of us, calling us egoistic and a braggart, because deep down, we know that it’s all for our children’s own good, wanting them to secure a stable life as well as a promising future. To us, good results equal a bright future.

Nevertheless, let’s face it. Not every child is like Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton or Thomas Edison. Instead, most of them are born ordinary with normal learning capabilities. To enhance one’s learning abilities, tuition is one of the most prevalent measures parents adopt. However, don’t choose a tuition centre based on your intuition. There is a myriad of factors that you have to look out for when deciding on one to make sure that it’s effective for your children and your money does not go to waste. Enough of babbling, let’s go straight to the point!

Class Size
In school, there are approximately 30 students in a class on average. That class size is BIG. With that many students in class, teachers can only rush through the syllables. They won’t have ample time to answer each and every student’s questions. Also they’re unable to make sure that all the students followed through and understood the lesson. That’s a flaw of schools and you won’t want your children to experience the same thing in tuition centres again. Therefore, go for one with a smaller class size, preferably not more than five in a class. This provides a conducive learning environment as well as more individual attention for your children.

Experience
Tuition teachers do not necessarily possess a degree in education. For instance, a Science tuition teacher could major in Pure Biology, Chemistry or Physics and a Mathematics tuition teacher could be a graduate of Actuarial Science. Undeniably, they are equipped with the necessary knowledge. However, they certainly lack in terms of experience. This is because whatever they have studied in the university were for them to apply in their respective fields. They’ve never learnt how to communicate with students, what more imparting knowledge efficiently to them. Also, they are not well-versed with the current syllables and exam formats. Hence, they won’t know how to guide the students to strategically tackle the questions, which is important if what one wants out of tuition is to score. Ergo, look for an experienced tutor, preferably an ex-teacher.

Teaching technique
In general, there are three common learning techniques, namely visual, auditory and kinaesthetic. You should identify your children’s learning technique before sending them off to a tuition centre. Firstly, if your child is a visual learner, the tuition teacher may use colourful flash cards and creative mind maps to facilitate learning. Secondly, if he’s an auditory learner, the tuition centre may have the teachers to either read passages aloud or play interesting recordings to capture the students’ attention, rather than letting them read from their textbook and take notes directly from the whiteboard. Last but not least, if he’s a kinaesthetic learner, he would definitely prefer hands-on activities, such as carrying out science experiments rather than copying lab reports. If you’re greedy just like me, opt for one that incorporates all three! For instance, a history class may be conducted in a way whereby the teacher first makes a mind map of the historical events (visual), play recordings from the event (auditory), and then either make them act out the scenes or bring them to relevant historical buildings (kinaesthetic). This sounds so fascinating that even I feel like going back to my student years. Just kidding. But you get my point.

At I-Tuition, we ensure our students master the right skills to do well in their school. Get quotation from us below and our tutor will get in touch with you shortly.

March 8, 2019March 8, 2019

5 Reasons Why You Need A Tutor In Malaysia

Tutoring in Malaysia is so well perceived by Malaysians that children, AND I SAY CHILDREN, as young as 7 years old have already been enrolled by their parents. You can say its kiasu-ism but like all parents, they just want what’s good for their kids. Tutoring or as Malaysians call it, tuition, are extra classes students go for after school. It’s either usually held right after school, in the evenings, or God forbid on the weekends. They teach the same stuff in school except their classes are smaller in size, usually 1:10. If you have the funds, you can even opt for 1:1, but prepare to pony up your wallet. If you’re unsure about whether you should get your kid a private tutor or send him to tuition centres, I’ll give you five reasons why.

#1 One-to-one attention

Let’s face it. You’re here because you want to improve your child’s grades in school but you don’t know if tutoring is the right way to do it. If your child is already in a public school, the ratio of teacher to student is 1:30 at the least. I remember back in my schooling days, there were at least 40 students in one classroom WITH one teacher. So, with a class that’s usually an hour long, there’s only so much attention that the teacher can give to each of her student. This is where one-to-one comes in. Tutors who provide one-to one can specifically guide your child in subjects or topics they are having difficulty with. Your child can be excelling in mathematics but not additional mathematics, hire a tutor for that particular subject. It benefits your child in a way that 1. He/She does not have to shy away when they do not understand the topic, 2. He/She may learn quicker and be able to catch up with the class.

#2 Student’s own time

And not all children learn at the same speed, right? There are those who are quick-learners and those who are a tad behind of the group. Also, a class teacher has to follow her lesson plan and finish the topics within a specific time frame. Lucky for you, a tutor does not. Hiring a tutor for your child allows your child to learn at his/her own pace. Say, your child is weak at math and has a problem with the fourth topic and his class is already finishing topic five. They’re going to have a problem catching up with the class. So, that’s how a private tutor would help, to provide them with extra guidance on topics/subjects they’re slow with.

#3 Reduce burden

Whether you’re putting food on the table or caretaking the home, you are already busy. Parenting requires you to run chores, make money, and care for your kid. There’s already so much to do. By hiring a private tutor, you can lessen your worry about your child’s performance. Private tutors are tuned in on the syllabus in schools. To put it plainly, you ARE not if you aren’t a teacher. Tutors have more experience and knowledge when it comes to educating your children. They have faced countless of learning strategies and are well equipped to execute them with your child, for your child.

#4 Learning disabilities

Are you worried your child might have a learning disability? Don’t be ashamed, no one is born perfect. Chances are, their class teacher might be too busy handling the other 29 children in her class for her to notice your child might have a learning disability. With a private tutor, there is an increased chance that they would know the conventional method will not be effective because of said learning disability e.g. dyslexia, visual impairment, colour blindness. Tutors can keep you in the loop so that you can take the necessary steps for your child.

#5 Convenient sake

Private tutoring, oh the convenience. If you have money to invest in one, get a home tutor. Any time spent on travelling especially in a traffic jam is time wasted. Not only for you, but for your child. Home tutors, as the name suggest, comes right into your home which saves you the hassle. When you drop your child off at a tuition centre, chances are you only meet the teacher once and you wouldn’t know their capabilities until your child’s grades show up on the report card. So with home tutors, you get to see if they’re well-equipped and experienced. You can also have a post-mortem with the teacher after classes.
Public schools are filling up faster than ever with more children pouring in every year. Don’t blame the class teachers, nobody can handle 30 children at one time. That’s what private tutors are for.

At I-Tuition, we ensure our students master the right skills to do well in their school. Get quotation from us below and our tutor will get in touch with you shortly.

Category: Educational Articles

5 Reasons Why You Should Use Multimedia For Education In Malaysia

3 Main Differences Of IGCSE And SPM In Malaysia

How To Choose The Best Tuition Centre For You Or Your Kids In Malaysia

5 Reasons Why You Need A Tutor In Malaysia

5 Reasons Why You Need A Tutor In Malaysia

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