One way, or Another, We're Gonna Get It

                Many people have several things they excel at, some more than others. Canadians use the four main math operations every single day, but most people don’t do it the same. Maybe they were taught different, maybe they figured out different ways to do their subtraction, addition, division and multiplication in their own way. In the past, our math curriculum as based on several different rules, the same can be said about teaching and using the four math operations. But if everyone is different, wouldn’t it make sense to provide students with alternative ways to learn and do math?

                Students often struggle with the real world practicality of the math they learn; the common notion is “why am I learning all of this stuff? I’m never going to use it again.” In recent years, educators have focused on creating real-world exercises and problems for students to do, in order to show them that math is everywhere, and they will use it every day. The phenomenon of incorporating open questions into math is crucial to sparking students imagination, and can be used a great teaching tool at any grade level. But what about the basics, the foundations to all math taught early on in students education, isn’t that all the same? If everyone is different, would showing them one way suffice all students? Should we as educators just aim to “suffice” or should we show them many ways and let them develop their own tactics?

Mihallov, D. (2010, May 12). Concrete Math. Retrieved from http://bit.ly/2dLekvP

                What educators ought to do is allow students to build their own foundations early on, believing in the idea that students will be able to develop their own algorithms for the four operations after they have identified the “facts” of math. Educators must first start with having students realize the crucial facts within math operations, specifically the multiplication and addition time tables. Within these facts, educators can highlight key facts, useful facts that will allow students to build a base for their procedures and algorithms. Students must start with the facts, then begin to build their knowledge about the various relationships within the operations, supported by the educators guidance.

                An example of learning the facts, then building onto them would be realization of the commonalities within the multiplication table. If students know that 2 x 3 = 6, then it is possible for them to estimate what 20 x 30 would be. Knowing the simple facts is crucial for a student’s future to build onto their understanding within the four operations. It is important to acknowledge that the age where we as educators rewarded the speed at which students learn and complete the facts is gone. Educators must now focus on being flexible when it comes to students learning the facts, and teaching them about the inter-relations. Too often in the past, students memorized sets of number combinations without really understanding them.

                The future of math is based on educators commitment to showing students all the tools and letting them pick which ones they want to use. Student’s don’t have to use every tactic their teacher shows them, as well as they do not need to use the same procedure forever. Students will often leave behind things they have learned because they do not need them anymore or because they have realized or been shown another way to do it. The image below shows a procedure that helps students add large numbers without the use of a device. The tactic is often called “skip counting”, and is based on the students knowing that a number like 332 can also be shown as 300 + 30 + 2.

                The purpose of this post was to shed light on the fact that math is not the only subject that has rigid rules to follow, it too should be fluid and allow for all students to be able to learn their way and with a better pace. Educators must allow students to do what they feel most comfortable with when it comes to the development of various algorithms and procedures. Educators must take this in stride, so they can show all students that math is sensible, useful and do-able.