How to help a student who has trouble breaking down complex ideas into components and synthesysing?

I'm a math tutor and have a very difficult client who cannot seem to do this at all. Worse yet, she's become very demanding, wanting to see me 6 hrs per week! Seeing her leaves me feeling very drained and irritable but I can't seem to say no and I don't have the heart to "fire" her as other tutors have done. (I've been tutoring over 30 years, have often taken on students other tutors have given up on, and have never given up on anyone!) She's a woman of "a certain age" and seems accustomed to having the men in her life do certain things for her, perhaps this is why she cannot seem to understand how to break up a process into steps and put them together.


Please help --


How do you help someone learn math (discreet math, a survey of advanced topics required of liberal arts majors( who cannot seem to anaylise and synthesiyse complex processes?


How do I set boundaries so that she doesn't make me sick?

How to help a student who has trouble breaking down complex ideas into components and synthesysing?
Try going all Socratic on her. Do not instruct, do not explain, ask questions only. Keep asking the questions until she has developed some idea of how to break down a problem or until you notice something about the way she approaches a problem that can be trained. If her answers still frustrate/bore you after a couple of sessions, you will have learned that nobody's benefiting.
Reply:tough ?. make it fun for you two. is there an easy step by step thing to do the problem? learning math is hard for some students to learn and as a student that isn't good at math, i suggest perserveering and being simpler, maybe you are explaing things in a manner she cannot understand. ask her, what don't you get from this? what do you get from this? you need to find a way to make her focus, and make her a friend no matter how uncool. Be kind when you speak and try to keep your cool.





good luck!
Reply:It sounds like she might have a learning disorder, possibly a spacial deficit. Thus, you have to approach it as such. Many of the learning disabled (even adults,) can be demanding, overzealous, and yes, annoying.





If you wish to break it down for her, the easiest way I have found (that works,) is to teach it, 1 step at a time. Don't go into more advanced areas, until they understand the first concept, completely, both backwards and forwards. Give her a minimum of 100 problems, on the first concept, prior to going on to the next, so it's firmly established in her head. Then, the sequential information will kick in, on it's own. They usually can't handle more than one process at a time, though, so be aware of that.


In addition, you might try turning it into a game, as it helps them to connect the dots, so to speak. You just have to figure out a game to use.





I use the technique for teaching various subject matter, including math. For instance... when I teach multiplication of positives and negatives to students that have a deficit, I make up sayings that they can recall easily. Ex. a bad man leaving town is a good thing (a negative x a negative is a positive.)





In addition, you might set certain stop points, for her. For instance, if she demands 6 hours, but you're drained, you simply say, "I'm sorry, but that won't be possible." If she tries to convince you otherwise, you repeat it, again. Regardless of what she says, ignore it, and continue to repeat the stop point. Eventually, they get tired of the repetiveness, and go on, to something else.
Reply:sounds like someone i know , and she just isn't mature enough to do certain things and its going to be hard , the one i know had to take some adult education classes and after 4 years of that she still doesn't know her math well at all and struggles with reading , she had some test down and they told her it is a severe learning disability and that she will have to learn things hands on , you might be able to talk to high school adminstrator for advice on this also , they are usually very willing to help
Reply:start with the answer and move backwards, then have her repeat the steps forward. i've never actually attempted this myself, but it might be just what she needs to help her understand. Then once she has done it a couple times, she can try to do it from the beginning without u working it backwards.
Reply:Require that she does her homework before she comes to see you, and that she attempt every problem. Tell her to let you see her notes from class, because chances are she isn't taking them at all, or at least not very well. Start explaining how to take notes rather than how to do the math. Chances are she'll freak out and demand that she already knows to take notes. So, demand that she does it. Then, when she comes in ask her to open her notebook and explain the notes. Then have her pull out her homework and tell you specifically what she was having trouble with. If she doesn't do these things, let her fail.