Does coaching really work?

BENGALURU: Coaching classes have become ubiquitous in the lives of students. But, do they really help them deal with the fear of numbers, in the right way?
“A good teacher will go down to a students’ level to solve a mathematics problem, and that does wonders in diluting his fear,” says Vamshi Krishna, founder of Vedantu.com, adding that out of 100 enquiries every day, nearly 60 are for mathematics coaching.
Vidyanext, which finds tutors for students through its portal, encourages the concept of 1 on 1 tutoring. “We use diagnostic tests to identify the gaps in student’s knowledge, and educate the tutor where to focus,” says Pradeep Singh, founder and CEO, Vidyanext. “For doubt clearance and concept clarification, nothing is more efficient than a targeted 1:1 coaching by a teacher,” he adds.
Allowing students learn the way they want is very important, feels Pravin Prakash, co-founder, Byju’s.“Only 0.1% of students have exceptional memory power, many love using diagrams and different patterns to add visual elements to learning,” he says.
“Understanding mathematical concepts at a slower pace after school really helps. The game changers in the coaching industry have come up with new techniques like content development for online tutoring, personalized lesson plans for students and learning apps with lots of visual content. The moment there is innovation, students learn better,” says Prakash.
Jayashree Kotekar, head of department mathematics, school-level programmes at BASE, said, “We focus on basic understanding of the subject. A concept is presented in multiple forms; auditory, visual and through various activities. Logical development of concepts is given a great importance and not mere learning of the procedures.”