| In the coming weeks,we'll be offering help with these, and other common
problems: I don't test
well..
He races through his homework, but I'm not sure he's getting
it...
They don't use a textbook, just worksheets... how can I
help?....
I forget it all once I'm in the test room...
What's a denominator?!
What's the point of it all, I mean, when will we EVER
need this stuff?..
She already feels stupid in math, how can I give her
confidence?...
He was doing fine until he got to middle school, and
now he's really floundering...
Problems
or questions about learning math? Send them to us. |
 |
At Newton's
Window, we've been working with students and families for many years, studying what works
and why, what doesn't and why not. Readers write with so many of the same problems,
that we're adding some new columns to give you answers to some of these questions. Send us yours. |
| A parent writes: My children do their homework and get good grades to start out,
but they seem to struggle more and more each year. What's going wrong? Is there any
way to keep them strong? |
NW: It
is a discouraging thing, indeed, when students who are doing all they're supposed to, see
their grades decline, and feel a constant sense of "not getting it" as they move
through school.
This is not only a common problem - it's
a national problem. In repeated international studies, we learned that American
students' performance actually worsens as they move through school. Even students
who think they're keeping up.
It's such a big problem, we're
going to tackle this problem throughout our site in the coming weeks. What's at the
root of this deterioration is most often a failure to see the bigger picture. We
have many students who practice procedures, but have no idea what the procedures do, when
to do them, and why. We repeatedly see students who are able to do the skill, but
didn't know which "skill" to do - students who can divide 100 problems, but
don't know when to divide, students who can factor 100 polynomials, but don't know what
factoring is, when we do it, or why.
Homework could help - but not the
way most students do homework. Most assignments give practice with procedures - a
very necessary thing - but disconnected from the when, the what, and the why. All
students practice is the "how." So they might do well on a quiz that tests
just that skill, but on bigger tests, standardized tests, admissions tests and exams -
they stare at it as if they've never seen it, with anxiety building, and a feeling of
" what do I do now?"
There are remedies for this.
We have a lot of them, and you will find them throughout our site, our products,
our writing and our work. What we want to do is help your children see the bigger
picture - seeing the connections, and having a deeper idea of what they're doing,
when they do it, and why.
You can help, even without
understanding the math. As your children do homework, ask them what they're
doing. They probably won't know. That's okay. Even if you don't
know, it's okay. Begin by asking, and trying to find out. We will give you
tools to find out.
Help them see the
connections to past things they've learned. This helps them see the bigger
picture.
Ask them when they
would do what they're doing. Try to help them discover this. When do we
divide? When do we factor? What does it let us do?
Getting the bigger picture is
easier, if we step back even further. Where does this fit into the history
of math? Knowing the historical perspective not only helps them see the
bigger picture, it makes math SO much more interesting and alive.
Give them practice getting
and reinforcing the concepts behind the procedures. This is vital.
Students can't get the bigger picture, without getting the concepts that form that
picture. We have many ideas for this throughout the website, and we've created some items
to help.
The NewtonsWindow
Math Bags include a stack of activity cards - and all the materials needed to get
beyond the procedures, and working and playing with the concepts that tie it all together.
Our Math
Magazine offers students a chance to do this in a fresh way every month - with new
activities, stories, history, games, mysteries - all designed to give them ways to build
an understanding and comfort with the concepts behind the things they learn in school.
Need more? Sometimes the
problems that families face need individualized attention. We have local
consulations for families in the Washington, D.C. metro area, and the Denver/Boulder,
Colorado area. For families elsewhere, we give successful
long-distance consultations to help you with specific problems. Contact us. |
| Problems or questions about learning math? Send them to us |
If you need more help... |
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