Year 4 student Ben focused on division facts and multiplication speed tests to boost his confidence with number operations.

In Year 9, Olivia worked through algebraic equations and practiced applying the distributive law, especially targeting her difficulties using visual examples.

For Year 11, Ethan tackled financial maths concepts such as depreciation and shares & dividend yield, working through harder questions for each to consolidate his understanding before upcoming exams.

A recurring theme across both Year 8 and Year 11 is over-reliance on formulas at the expense of deeper understanding.

For example, in financial maths, a Year 11 student "just enters numbers without considering the background," which makes it harder to adapt when worded or unfamiliar questions arise.

In Year 8 algebra, another student hesitated with new problem types unless prompted, showing that comfort with familiar steps sometimes blocks flexible thinking.

Working out is often messy or skipped—one tutor noted, "she still likes to work out in her head," leading to confusion when checking answers later.

Confidence wavers after setbacks; when practice tests were challenging, motivation dropped sharply and errors went unchecked.

One Mallabula tutoring session saw a high school student, Danika, go from doubting her ability to retain knowledge to confidently pointing out a tutor's mistake—something she would never have attempted at the start.

Another older student, Liz, who used to hesitate with financial maths, now actively tackles tough exam questions and even teaches back concepts when she feels sure of her answers.

Meanwhile, Lara in Year 7 has shifted from giving up on challenging problems to asking clarifying questions and working through new linear equations independently; by the end of one lesson she completed a question without help.