A lot of students are not necessarily stressed or anxious about the exercises they will have to solve during math competitions, but they are stressed because of the atmosphere and structure of the exam. Below are some tips on how to recreate the conditions during exams and help students get accustomed to the competition atmosphere.

The logic behind math

Something math tutors at the OMC care a lot about is teaching children how to operate with mathematics. Beyond numbers and formulas, mathematics is a logical language. Once the student understands the logical key to solving most mathematical operations, they will be able to identify the solving key to any exercise. Therefore, teachers should help students develop logical reasoning through mathematical exercises. 

 Solve past papers

An old strategy used by teachers in class in order to prepare for following exams is to solve exams from previous years or sessions. This helps the student get familiar with the type of exercise they have to prepare. Also, it gives a couple of guidelines on what to prepare for math competitions. 

Time-bound exercises

Math competition exams are bound by a time period. Students usually have to solve a standard number of questions in 60 or 70 minutes. During the online classes, teachers can implement this type of time-bound exercise in order to familiarize the student with the existence of a given time frame. Teachers should set the time in accordance with the difficulty level of the math exercise. 

Increase difficulty 

It is better to teach the student how to tackle math exercises higher than the standard level than to keep them in a comfort zone. This way, if they stumble upon a more difficult exercise during math competitions, they won’t be stressed. Moreover, the self-confidence boost they receive by solving challenging tasks will help foster a greater passion for math. 

Run math tests 

Teachers can organize weekly, short math competitions. Re-enacting actual math competitions during online class will help students:

• Understand exam architecture
• Get used to being timed
• Discover the fun in competitions
• Improve self-confidence
• Learn math in a more practical way

Join local math tournaments

Before joining national or international math competitions, students can participate in smaller competitions, at a school or city-level. Schools often organize math olympiads locally and these are great opportunities for getting familiar with math competitions. Some of them even organize these competitions online, which makes them more accessible.