According to various educators, many of them felt the frustration of having taught a math unit to discover that it takes weeks or months for students to finnaly understand. They tend to lose the knowledge they have gained, and as time passes, the students move on to learning new topics, eventually losing math skills and ideas. Primary math class Coaching in South West Sydney can help to build math retention skills by building connections between topics, visualising math ideas, and focusing on the students developing their math understanding through a process called spatial repetition.
Fluency helps children to spot patterns, test them, create generalisations, make conjectures and make connections between various areas of learning, especially when dealing with true skills of working mathematically. When the students can work mathematically, they naturally get better equipped to solve various problems without any hassle. With the right guidance and support, the students can develop their fluency, making them better at problem-solving. Math fluency is defined as the ability to work with numbers, operations and procedures with ease.
“The only way to learn mathematics is to do mathematics.”
– Paul Halmos
Three stages of fluency are:
Simple strategies
While doing the basics, any child gets to learn a new skill and tries to work out an answer using proper resources and counting strategies. This helps them to solve a problem accurately.
Mental calculations
As the students become more proficient with new learning skills, they reach the second stage of fluency. The learners at this stage learn to work out the answer in their heads. It even requires thinking and effort as they develop reasoning strategies, and can help one to become more efficient.
Achieving fluency
Finally, when the students reach the stage of just knowing the math problem instantly, they can efficiently produce accurate answers. This stage involves utilising their knowledge and flexibility and making connections that can be used to work out the unknown.
Strategies for Building Fluency in Mathematics –
- Help students develop strong visualisations
Visualising math involves creating images, such as diagrams and pictures, to help understand and communicate mathematical concepts. It can aid students in creating meaning and connections between different topics, as well as in relating to the real world. The use of graphic organizers or manipulatives can assist in building these visualisations. This approach can be used with any mathematical concept that one is teaching in the Primary math class Coaching South West Sydney.
- Create student reference guides
Creating student reference guides can be a simple yet effective way to highlight math skills and concepts in a way that is meaningful to each student. These guides can be created by students themselves, which makes them more invested in the material. Incorporating note-taking into the guided math routine can help students have a reference point to go back to when they need to recall prior learning. Also, note-taking can be combined with visualisation strategies, which can help students take ownership of their learning.
- Encourage mathematical discussions
Having the opportunity to engage in mathematical discourse is critical for retention. When students can discuss their ideas, revise their thinking, and build upon the ideas of others, they can make necessary connections between concepts.
- Number Talks
Number talks are a simple way to increase the amount of dialogue in your math class. These are brief, structured conversations that take place within a 5-15 minute time frame. It is important to establish class norms and expectations for these conversations to ensure student accountability.
- Stronger and Clearer Each Time
By providing quick, structured discussion opportunities, students can refine their ideas and gain an understanding of the material. They can be provided with a planning template available to assist with implementing this protocol in the classroom.
- 2, 4, 6, 8 Collaborative Problem-Solving Structure
Another essential way to build a dialogue in math coaching is by providing collaborative opportunities. When the students work together, they engage in dialogue and learn from each other. Trying out the 2, 4, 6, and 8 collaborative math solving structures to support students to engage in both independent and collaborative thinking.
- Use mnemonic devices or acronyms
Mnemonic devices are techniques used to improve memory and recall. They can be applied to any subject area, and they are especially useful in math. These devices consist of a pattern of letters or ideas that can help students remember steps or procedures in solving math problems. By using mnemonic devices, students can build strong habits of retaining information. Word problems can be difficult for some students, but with the help of a mnemonic device, they can easily apply the strategy to solve any math problem. These devices can be added to student reference materials, for them to refer back to the meaning of each letter and then recall how to utilize the mnemonic.
- CUBES method for problem-solving
- C – Circle the important numbers
- U – Underline the question
- B – Box the words that are keywords
- E – Eliminate extra information
- S – Solve the problem–be sure to show work
- BUILD Problem-Solving Approach
- B – Box any directions
- U – Underline the question
- I – Identify important numbers by circling them
- L – Location operation clue and put a star
- D – Double-underline the units
It is crucial to ensure that the learners have a smooth and effortless recall of the necessary facts required to solve amaths problem. This approach allows them to directly focus on actually solving the problem, rather than struggling to remember the essential facts. Comprehending the fundamental strategies of problem-solving, the students must have sufficient cognitive abilities to recognise patterns and make connections.
By taking advantage of the fluency virtuous cycle, the students can achieve much more than just memorising formulas and procedures. With time the students will be able to work more effectively, draw connections, solve problems, and become competent mathematical thinkers.
Reach out to us at Kalibre Education. We provide highly professional Primary & Secondary math class Coaching in South West Sydney with experienced tutors to deliver detailed training and tuition to students and help them excel and improve in various subjects. We ensure to provide students with the personalised attention, support, and quality resources necessary to overcome their difficulties in mathematics and achieve academic success.
