Math is something that is hard to avoid in life. To students are in school, it may just seem like a subject that requires a lot abstract thought and attention, when in fact, math is crucial to the way we live as humans. It’s in the foundation of nearly every modern society (think about everything from baking and cooking food to a bus or train schedule) and it is something that can completely expand one’s way of thinking when it’s comprehended and built on. With technology driving our world today, the importance of math has never been greater. Yet, some people don’t love math. We see a lack of love for math all the time at Mathnasium of Cherry Creek and generally, it comes from those who struggle to grasp core concepts of math. Struggling to understand core concepts can make math so, so difficult – especially when it comes to higher levels of math.
The good news is: math doesn’t have to be so difficult! There are things that students and parents can do to guide kids to be successful at math and have the confidence to face the math and data driven world that they will grow up to be adults in. Below are steps to help your student grow in the subject of math and really start to understand mental math and numerical fluency.
Understand vs. Regurgitate
Math, especially mental math, requires some facts to be memorized. Addition and multiplication tables are two examples of this. It would be hard to move into long division or complicated multiplication without quickly having basic facts memorized. Beyond basics, concepts need to be understood instead of just facts. A lot of times, we see students come into Mathnasium of Cherry Creek who have some of the right facts memorized, but they can’t move beyond that because they’re trying to memorize EVERYTHING. They’ve tried to apply the same memorization technique to say, long division or algebra. To memorize every possible outcome from every single algebra problem would be impossible. What we then work on is helping students understand why certain steps are required in the journey to solve problems, not just repeating how you do something.
Here are some examples: 3+1=4 and 3+2=5 and 3+3=6 is memorization, but conceptually this means you are gathering a 3 and a 1 together to get their total. Same with multiplication: 4*1=4 and 4*2=8 and 4*3=12 are facts to memorize, but conceptually multiplication is that you get a total from a number that has been copied so many times.
Explain and Question
From the time we are babies, we are having things explained to us as a way of experiencing the world. Then, as we get older, into toddler years, we start questioning. Ask any parent of a toddler about the “why” phase. Explaining and question are two ways we learn and grow in life. Take this and apply it to math. Have your student explain how a concept works and how to solve problems using that concept to you, their friends, their teachers and whoever else will listen. It’s one of the best ways they can learn this concept themselves, because not everyone might understand just one type of explanation. Explaining to all different types of people requires them to express the concept in formats that might make them actually think about it differently, thus, it’ll help them truly master it.
Practice
Math is a language that expresses relationships between numbers. While more verbal languages might come easier to some, math is a language that comes a little more natural to others. One thing is for sure: any language takes time and practice to truly master. There might be parts that don’t come as fluid, like geometry or plotting, but breaking those down into one concept at a time and workshopping it, will help students eventually put the entire thing together with confidence to be able to solve the problems that are, well, giving them problems. When a student can get 7 problems revolving around a concept right, they are most likely at a point where they have a clear understanding of the concept.
Go To Mathnasium
Struggling with something can be embarrassing, whether you’re an adult or a kid, especially if you see that your friends are getting it. Many teachers encourage students to ask questions in class, but if your child is falling behind, even with asking questions or not asking to have help with clarification in school because they are shy or too embarrassed, it might be time to hire math help for your child.
Going to a math mastery center, like Mathnasium, may seem a little intimidating to a student at first, but when they garner the confidence to go to math class without falling behind or not fear math quizzes and tests, you will both feel better about the situation. We move at a pace set for your child, so they can work at a rate that’s comfortable to them without feeling pressure. Give us a call for an assessment at 303.333.6284.
