This article was born of a conversation with the editor about the nature of maths blocks, how parents could help, and whether everyone can be taught to be competent at maths. My answer, broadly, is yes, but the younger the pupil, the better the likely outcome.
My own perspective is that of a secondary teacher with experience of both state and private sectors as well as that of a parent. In the state sector I worked at the rougher end of the London market but I have taught for the last 15 years at Westminster School. I have also, over the years, helped the children of a number of friends and family, whether they are building up to entrance tests or just need a top-up.
Perhaps the first distinction to be made is that between mathematics and arithmetic. Enjoyment of maths and progress in it is very much dependent on a firm basis in the other. There is much more to maths than facility with number operations: it embraces problem-solving, space and shape, data handling and the world of abstract maths that is accessed through algebra. However, if children struggle with mental arithmetic they can miss out on the enjoyment and engagement with the other areas.
I imagine that many parents reading this article are already fully involved in supporting their children’s mathematical learning; I hope what follows offers food for thought, but foremost in my mind are those who have shied away until now. A useful preliminary is to ask: how was it for you? If maths at school conjures up gut-wrenching memories then reflect on these first, however painful they may be. Did you lose confidence? Was the pace at which you were taught too fast or too slow? Did you talk about maths? Did you feel that you had “a block”? More importantly, do you pass on any negatives to the next generation?
Confidence is a huge issue. A child’s lack of confidence may affect not just his or her ability to learn but the desire to work hard too. Where a school groups students into sets by ability, those in the top classes may feel that they are there because they work hard and students in lower groups because they are not good at the subject. In any case, the environment that works best is one where achievements are celebrated and progress is valued.
To generate confidence, the key is to start by practising skills that the child already has. Programmes such as Kumon seek to embed key core arithmetic skills through rote learning. They are a little dry, for sure, but this is not a misguided approach. It is also worth distinguishing how layers in understanding are reflected in the variety of ways a different skill may be used. For instance, there is a progression in difficulty from solving a simple addition on paper, to solving one in your head, to solving one in a context, to making up your own. So when you ask a child a question, appreciate where on this scale you are operating. Shops and kitchens are full of numbers so make use of those. Listen carefully to children’s responses too as these are the clues to uncovering what they do and don’t understand. Practice is vital in improving mental arithmetic skills, so why not work on your own at the same time? Small bites are good too: car journeys have proved to be the ideal time for my family.
So what of maths “blocks”? I believe there are three thoughts to have to the fore when a child is finding maths difficult. One is that children’s minds grow. If they are not ready for an idea one day, they may be the next. Second, a lot of maths learning is sequential, in that acquisition of a skill, technique or point of understanding is often based on earlier foundations. If a child is having difficulty grasping an idea then that may require an understanding of a more fundamental point. Third, children learn in different ways: the teacher who says that he or she hasn’t found the way of explaining an idea, rather than that the child hasn’t learnt it, is more likely to succeed.
Recently I have been helping a seven-year-old family member who has been having difficulty with understanding the idea of multiplication and who found it tough to keep up in school. I realised after about ten minutes with him that his problems stemmed from hesitation in addition, and until he had mastered that, there was no point in trying multiplication.
While he had the ideas of addition in place, his “number bonds” were far from secure—that is, his all-but-automatic sense of the totals of simple combinations of numbers. I encouraged his parents to make up a grid, numbered 1 to 5 in both directions, and to ask him every day to add up all the combinations (1 plus 1, 1 plus 2, and so on) to help him speed up and build his confidence. Since then, his school and family have put together a special plan to help.
Conversations between parents and teachers are an invaluable cornerstone of an effective approach and the starting point when problems arise. If there are significant issues of understanding then the school will have access to the resources to help in terms of expertise and experience. Parents can really help speed up the process; after all, children have myriad ways of disguising a lack of understanding and a teacher with a class of 30 will not be able to offer huge amounts of one-to-one time.
When it comes to introducing new topics and techniques, this is best left to the school. It is better for parents to ask children to explain what they did in school and use that as a starting point. Interestingly, when I observed maths classes in Japan some years ago, the pupils often seemed totally uninterested but were well skilled. That was because so many of them had already covered the topics at the juku (evening school). Yes, the high rates of numeracy sounded enviable but when I interviewed Japan’s Minister of Culture, he saw the lack of interest in maths and the absence of problem-solving initiative as issues that needed to be addressed—and Japan was looking to the west for solutions. So, yes, you can push ahead in introducing your child to new topics but go carefully because the longer-term result may be a bored student in school.
For those who have a child who is not stretched in the classroom, games involving strategy and puzzles may rekindle interest. Good resources are websites such as nRich, run by Cambridge University (www.nrich.maths.org) and the UK Mathematics trust website, which runs national competitions (www.mathcomp.leeds.ac.uk). Or try newspaper puzzle sections—all those Japanese puzzles are good but I particularly like Chris Maslanka’s section in the Guardian.
Bringing it home
Parents often pass their own fear of maths on to their children, but basic exercises can bring rapid progress
February 22, 2012
