Five Key Math Concepts
By Chloe, Instructor
Mathnasium believes in five crucial concepts that will help advance students learning in math. By using these tactics, students will be able to think critically and have a foundation to understand concepts on a deeper and higher level. Mastering each of these skills not only makes the other concepts more achievable, but helps students learn math concepts more efficiently. The following include the five key principles at Mathnasium: Counting, Wholes and Parts, Proportional Thinking, Quality and Denomination, and the Law of SAMEness.
Counting:
Typically, counting can be referred to as the ability to count from any number, counting ahead and backward and by any number. Ultimately, counting transforms one number into another. When students start counting they begin to understand the basics of counting. Ultimately, students can grasp the following concepts in an easier way: knowing different multiples of numbers, placing values in the decimal number system, and analyzing groups of numbers. As students master counting, students not only become more confident in their math skills, but also will have an easier time grasping the other crucial concepts like wholes and parts, as well as proportional thinking.
Wholes and Parts:
By learning wholes and parts, students can grow their primary math knowledge to learn different ways to solve problems and equations, a wide range of fraction numbers, and basic to complex word problems. Many students often will come to Mathnasium with a hard time understanding where to start with solving word problems, however, by incorporating wholes and parts into each student's learning plan, it sets them up for success to see how to apply this skill in their everyday life.
Proportional Thinking:
Proportional thinking shows how when the size of when the amount of one thing is changed, it changes another amount. Helping students understand the concept that the amount of one thing can be adjusted according to the amount of something else. As students understand proportions, they can understand the sense of a scale in an easier, less complicated way. By incorporating word problems and helping students visualize a mental image of questions they need to solve throughout their day.
Quantity and Denomination:
Quantity is the amount or number of something. By having students find the measure of how much something is measured, it allows students to use patterns and other exercises to enhance their understanding of how much of something there is. Moreover, the denomination is the name value of the amount of something. Knowing the name value of the quantity is crucial because without it, students would have a difficult time expressing how many there are of something.
The Law of SAMEness:
Mathnaisum stresses the importance of the Law of SAMEness through students' math plans to show that there is a huge difference between two different objects and that objects can only be added and subtracted that have the same name. In simpler terms, things that have the same denomination. This helps students realize what can and cannot go together.
