Six Things that Think Teach Academy does Differently compared to other Enrichment Centres Cheekie Monkies

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Well, here we go again.

After 2 rounds of PSLE with Ash and Ayd, it is Ale’s turn to go on this rite of passage that all Primary 6 kids will be familiar with. The school prelims are round the corner while the PSLE is slightly over 1.5 months away.

So while it is inevitable that exam fever will be all around us in the coming weeks, there is one thing I had learnt during the boys’ PSLE journeys. And that is having a different mindset when it comes to approaching the big exam. I am referring to us parents, not the kids. So instead of just imploring Ale to try her best all the time, we have focused on something more tangible – putting in a reasonable amount of effort in her school work consistently every day.

All good, except for one tiny problem.

It can get really exasperating trying to explain problem sum-solving to a P6 child. And don’t even get me started on trying to answer all those Science open-ended questions in the supposed format! 😅

Which is why when Think Teach Academy offered to relieve some of my workload (and thinning hair), I was only too happy to let them do so.

Truth is, Ash attended the ‘A’ Math classes last year when he sat for his ‘O’-Levels and I personally saw his improvement over the months. He was scoring a D7 before he started the lessons and for his ‘O’-Levels, he attained a B3! Needless to say, he was over the moon. Oh, and for clarity’s sake, his lessons were NOT sponsored.

Because if you have been reading my blog all these years (17 and counting!), you will know I do not simply endorse any enrichment centres on a whim. Minimally, I let my kids attend a few lessons first before I decide to accept the engagement. It isn’t so much whether the teachers can guarantee an A, but I want to see if my kids genuinely enjoy the classes because so many years of parenting have taught me that as long as kids enjoy the learning, the benefits will follow.

So when Think Teach Academy offered to enrol Ale into the P6 Math and Science classes, I wanted her to attend the classes for a few months before penning this post.

That was in early April this year and fast forward to August, I can say that not only has her Math and Science improved, her confidence in these two subjects have soared.

Previously, she was of the impression that she was hopelessly weak in her Math and Science… partly due to the fact that she was scoring 70 marks and below for her tests and exams in the subjects. As a result, her confidence took a severe hit and before she sat for the papers, she would already project herself scoring poorly again.

After a few months at Think Teach Academy, I can sense a gradual change in her attitude when it comes to attempting the worksheets. She is more confident now, and WANTS to try the more difficult questions as well so that she can learn from her mistakes. Kudos to her teachers at Think Teach Academy for the positive influence on her attitude as well!

So what is it that Think Teach Academy does that is different compared to other centres? Personally, I feel they excel in these 6 ways:

Think Teach Academy’s 3D Approach to Exam Excellence

Decoding Questions

To study smart, Think Teach’s teachers analyse examination questions to draw out patterns and trends, so that every single question type that can possibly be tested is exposed to their students. This has been particularly useful for Ale because nowadays when she does exam papers from other schools, she remarks that she finds most of the questions familiar because they were taught during class.

Devising Effective Techniques

But knowing every type of question that can be tested counts for nothing if she cannot remember the solving techniques. Think Teach Academy’s teachers formulate effective techniques that their students can easily learn and remember so that they are enabled to approach examination questions with ease, confidence and accuracy.

Delivering Results

Having the know-how to decode questions and apply the relevant techniques is the key to acing the exams. I had the chance to sit in for Ale’s Math and Science lessons virtually and I saw how the students were taught to master its two-step philosophy of first identifying which question type a particular question belongs to before applying the techniques to always get those questions answered correctly.

 

Making Learning Hands-on… and Fun!

Learning need not be boring and judging from Ale’s willingness to still attend her classes week in, week out, I think Think Teach Academy must be doing something right. 😁

Her Math classes involve breaking questions down into different question types and understanding which  recommended approach is the best way to tackle these questions. So now, she no longer fears those daunting problem sums – which is always a good thing! 

As for the Science classes, there is a focus on a complete mastery of content. With exam questions now testing cross-topical content knowledge, the aim is for students to not just master concepts in one given topic but also understand how different topics are linked together – something that Ale is weak in before attending Think Teach Academy.

 

Option for Online Classes

While there is nothing quite like attending face-to-face lessons, Think Teach Academy also recognises the need for online lessons given how fluid things have been the past two years. I am so thankful that there is an option to re-arrange Ale’s physical lessons to online sessions if something crops out… like the time when we were on holiday in Australia during the June school holidays. 

The marvels of technology, no? 😁

Monthly Parents Support Programme

I love it that we parents receive a monthly email from Think Teach Academy’s Head Subject teachers which keeps us in the loop regarding the progress of the lessons. 

Every month, I receive an email with an attachment which shows the past question types that were covered during the past 4 lessons. This way, I too can familiarise with the techniques that Ale had learnt so that I can better guide her at home during revision time. There are also teaching videos included in the email as well so that the techniques can be further reinforced at home. Here’s an example:

In addition, parents could also treat the Parents Support Programme as an extra resource for their kids to carry out a condensed revision on the past exam question types. 

Comprehensive Notes

There is also another reason why Ale loves the classes at Think Teach Academy. They provide awesome revision notes! 

Not only are the in-house science notes comprehensive, exam-centric and easy to read, they also contain results-proven templated answering structures which are extremely useful for Ale.