Modern maths: “That’s Not How I was Taught!”
Tried helping with homework, only to leave your child more confused?!
Chances are, your child has brought home maths homework that looks very different to what you remember doing as a child.
Perhaps phrases like, “That’s not how my teacher showed us” sound all too familiar. Don’t worry, this is quite common. The way maths is taught has in fact changed over the years, so let’s look at this further and get up to scratch!
In the past:
In the past, the approach to teaching maths was very much focused on teaching procedures. It was about teaching a sequence of steps to solve a problem. If you were taught in this way, you may remember learning “rules” for solving problems.
For example, you might remember borrowing from the tens and paying it back. Or when you multiply by 10, you “add a zero at the end”. When you multiply by 100, you “add two zeros at the end”. Learn more about common maths misconceptions.
So, what? Why this approach isn’t helpful:
Children rely on the adult to show them methods, instead of opportunities to explore with maths and make their own discoveries
More inclined to rely on memorising procedures, which means children may not be understanding why they are doing these steps
As problems become more complex, they may struggle to apply knowledge in different contexts
Without a deep understanding, children rely on a method taught, instead of being flexible in their thinking when problem solving
Modern approach:
In recent times, there’s been a shift towards a more conceptual approach. There is an emphasis on children understanding the concept and the process, as opposed to following steps to get a final answer.
Concepts are taught using concrete resources for children to physically manipulate
Encouraged to explore and figure out things for themselves (of course, with guidance and support from the adult)
Allowing children to make their own connections proves to develop a deep and lasting understanding
“Tell Me and I Forget;
Teach Me and I May Remember;
Involve Me and I Learn”
Why this approach works so well in my tutoring sessions...and can help you too!
Visual representations are often used to solve problems, such as part-whole models
Become flexible in their mathematical thinking, which is again, great for problem-solving
Emphasis on reasoning to show deeper understanding, which is essential for maths mastery
Ability to use different methods accurately, but also being able to choose the most efficient strategy
Being able to choose the most efficient method is important:
Understanding the procedures and why they work, means children are able solve problems efficiently, rather than just following a procedure.
What you can do at home:
Ask questions
Instead of just asking for the answer, follow up with questions that promote reasoning. For example:
“How do you know?”
“Prove it” (I find this one makes it fun!)
Represent a number in different ways:
Number line
Base 10 blocks
Unifix cubes
Ten frame
Tally marks
Partition
Part-whole model
Concrete materials
Use hands-on materials to represent calculations. Find items around the house that you can use to make maths more practical (e.g. pencils, books, blocks). This supports the concrete - pictorial - abstract approach.
Conclusion
Have a go at using some of these strategies with your children. For more ideas, check out our Instagram and Facebook pages, where you’ll find even more engaging activities!