Math Weekly Reflection 3

S. (n.d.). Ferb math [Digital image]. Retrieved September 23, 2018, from https://www.deviantart.com/shoyzzfanart/art/Ferb-math-255364862

   

    The focus of our discussions this week tended to continue on making mistakes, but also introduced the concept of math speed. There are many ways in which students struggle with their ability to make mistakes and that does not allow them to grow. With this in mind teachers should always strive to frame their student’s mindset around seeking excellence but enjoying the learning that comes from making a mistake. When a student makes a mistake its exciting because that means they have more to learn. They have something new to discover and they should follow that lead. On the premise of speed there needs to be an emphasis on better understanding the problems which are talked about in mathematics. Students need to know that not being quick at doing math does not mean they are necessarily worse at it. It could just mean that they rather take a look at all the angles of a problem before trying to solve. This does not mean that having speed when solving problems is a bad thing, but it does mean that students should not be punished for not being able to do their math problems in time. When I was in high school there was always a teacher in our mathematics class that would make tests very difficult because not a lot of time was given for them. He would say "When you get to university you won't have a lot of time on your exams, so you need to get good at doing math quickly now". This was not the case when I went to university because math turned into mathematical reasoning and solving proofs which meant that the mechanical skill of solving math problems was less important then understanding their logic and the mechanisms that made a math formula true. Every university math exam I had was 3 hours and did not have to many questions. Not finishing the test was never the problem, the ability to reason out and solve a couple of difficult questions was more important in university then it was in High school. 

    When I was researching a little bit about the topic of speed however I found a very interesting article on the topic. The article suggested that the using of an abacus to both demonstrate numbers visual and stimulate mental math were very helpful in having students become more efficient with their mathematics and have less anxiety when performing them (N, V., Perumalla, R., & M, N, 2018). Students, I would venture to guess, who have had more experience with numbers at an earlier age tend to be less anxious with mathematics as well as excel better when manipulating them. I think while it is important to focus on having students develop a deep understanding of mathematics and not be swayed by being slower at doing them, teachers should still hope to give students the tools to become more efficient in their mathematical ability. Yes, this might mean that students might miss some part of their development of mathematics, but for a majority of students the ability to do quick math is important and shouldn't be lost. Calculating your taxes, doing groceries, making a budget for yourself, buying t-shirts for your baseball team and calculating their cost are all regular math activities that do not require extensive math knowledge but rather math familiarity and speed. These are tasks that will help individual students take less time in their daily lives to perform these tasks, so I don't want to forgo mathematical speed altogether but understand the necessity to make it not the 'be all end all' of junior intermediate mathematical thinking.

N, V., Perumalla, R., & M, N. (2018). Effect of abacus training on maths anxiety. 
             National Journal of Physiology, Pharmacy and Pharmacology,8(6), 854.

doi:10.5455/njppp.2018.8.0204508022018