About Matthew Hiebert Expertise education, study strategies, pedagogy, sustainable education, hidden curriculum,
classroom
management, science, math, learning materials
Experience Extensive experience teaching at the elementary/jr. secondary level, including experience at prestigious international schools; recent work has been as pedagogy specialist and education project coordinator for teacher training projects in east and southeast Asia, and in Latin America
Question Hello, I homeschool a 7th grader. She struggles in math. I think what is her base problem is remember basic operations answers. She just can't seem to remember the simplest ones and therefore, will get a
problem wrong. We have tried stopping everything and reviewing through cards. She just wont retain. How do you feel about interactive computer programs to reinforce this? Any other suggestions? Thanks
Answer Hi, thanks for the question, and sorry for my super slow response. I've been working in some remote areas without email access.
The problem you describe is really common, even some very bright kids can have some blockage like that. So not to worry... there are ways to get around it.
You're right that she needs to get the basic facts down, and my feeling is that whatever works, go for it. By grade seven, she'll be understanding the facts conceptually, but the recall may not be there. That will totally hang a student up in more difficult questions, since they're swatting at mosquitos when they should be hunting elephants... they need to be able to respond to all the basic facts, all operations, without pause or thinking.
So, back to your question, some computer programs are better than others, but they basically have the same substance, so whatever type of practice you can get her to do, the better. There should be some kind of speed feedback for her so that she can see herself improving, and set some goals... plus those games tend to be more fun and challenging. If she like flashcards, go for it - and if recall is a problem, don't use the whole deck. Study with her first with 4 or 5 cards, then once she has those ones down pat, put them down and grab another 4 or 5... once those are mastered, pick the others back up and work on 8 or 10 with her... if she gets stalled on a few, add those to the pile of ones she hasn't studied yet, and the ones which were not a problem can go off to the side... then repeat.
Personally my favorite drill method is the "math minutes", those little sheets of 20 or 30 basic facts questions. Give her a fixed time to complete as many as she can. Then mark them and give her a score. Next day repeat. I used to give my younger students 2 minutes. Once they passed one "level" by getting all correct in that time, they moved to the next level... progressing through the four operations, and to higher difficulty. The kids loved it because they could track their progress easily, there was immediate feedback, and for those that struggled, it was painless... just 2 minutes out of their day. We don't want to turn a weak math student into a math hater by having them do overkill on the things they're weak at.... just that regular and consistent practice is very beneficial.
Also, pay attention to where she has the most challenge. Most kids of any age will be relatively quicker on 2+1=3, and relatively slower on 8x7=56. Keep track of the ones where she is weaker, and you may begin to feel a bit more optimistic... it's probably not toooo many. You can periodically ask her one or two during the lesson. I used to circulate around the room and whisper into a student's ear: "72 divided by 8" and they would whisper back "9"... that kind of thing... keep it light.
I had one student who REALLY JUST COULDN'T finish a strip in 2 minutes. He was actually fine in math, grasped all the concepts, but was just super slow. I did give him some extra practice, but in the end, I lowered the bar for him... he and i had a deal he could move to the next level if he got 18 in 2 minutes. He ended up doing fine... and he's now in high school, getting A's in math... so please don't worry about your 7th grader... just keep it up, keep her positive, and just stay consistent with some regular practice :)
Good luck!
If you want some samples of the kind of math minutes I used you can send me another quick note with an email address or some way to get them to you.
