Math is part skill and part concepts. If you want your child to get good grades in math class, they will need to understand the concepts and master the skills. Even if your smart child understands the math concepts, they might still need help with the skills. Also, smart kids often need help with concepts if they did not get the right instruction at the right time.
Mastering a Skill Takes Consistent Practice
Think of something you learned to do well, but don’t do now. It could be any skill but we’ll use soccer as an example. If someone asked you to describe the concepts of soccer, you could talk about teamwork, agility, speed, strategies, rules, and fancy footwork. You have the concept of what a good soccer player does. What would happen if you were to join a team now? You will likely discover that you don’t have the skills anymore because you are out of practice. To succeed on the soccer field you need both the concepts and the skills.
To succeed in math, students need to understand the concepts and have the skills. A person can learn a concept by listening, thinking, reading and discussing. A person learns a skill by doing and practicing.
If your child understands the math concepts (you will know because they can explain it!), yet still makes mistakes, they may lack the skills of math.
Do They Need more Practice?
Many children need more practice than they get in school. Needing more practice to learn long division does not imply anything about their smarts or their ability to learn advanced math concepts. It just means they need to repeat the skills more so that it becomes automatic.
What if They are Already Getting Enough Practice?
What about the child that understands the concepts, gets plenty of practice, but still makes mistakes? Math gaps, bad habits, or inefficient skills may be holding them back.
The old saying “Practice makes perfect” is only partially true. Practice makes perfect so perfect practice is essential. People who practice something incorrectly will ingrain the imperfection into their brain. Kids who understand the concept of division but practice dividing incorrectly or inefficiently will have a hard time changing their habits.
It is important to practice a skill correctly, because the brain will create neural pathways, or “muscle memory.” Retraining the brain is possible and it takes significant time and effort. If you practice the skill correctly your muscle memory will do it right almost every time.
Two Steps Backward to Propel Forward
You must first identify the problem to solve the problem. The easiest way to identify if your child has conceptual or skill based math gaps is to get a thorough assessment, like the no cost, no obligation assessments we offer at Mathnasium of Littleton.
If the assessment does not show any math gaps, the problem is likely from bad habits or not getting enough practice. To fix that, ensure that your child correctly practices math skills outside of school. Give us a call at 720-307-2966 if you need help.
Articles referenced in this article include:
How Math Concepts and Math Skills Work Together and Why You Should Care
Are Your Kid's Math Grades Plummeting in Algebra or Geometry?
Practice Makes Perfect so Perfect Practice is Essential
A Parent's Guide to Math Interventions
Increase Your Child's Math Accuracy by Changing 4 Bad Habits
Help the Independent Child in Math - Without Pulling Your Hair Out
Diagnose Your Child's Math Mistakes With 2 Easy Questions!
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