Drills and Memorization |
You may be surprised to discover that our program involves some basic math skill drills and memorization. This is not our main emphasis, but we have found that mastering a set of fundamental skills enhances the student's ability to reason mathematically at a higher level. Our only set of drills is the Math Pak. These are basic drills to develop fundamental knowledge and ability with fractions and decimals. We could go through a series of real-world examples to (for example) teach students how to add fractions, but we feel this effort at exploring mathematical reasoning should be done for concepts at a higher level than this. This is why we created the Math Pak: to put a basic set of tools in the student's hands at the outset of Math Team. Please note that those Math Pak drills are not just procedural drills. They include a small description of exactly what it means to do each of these calculations. For example, the Math Pak includes an introduction to fractions and what each operation with them means. Memorization:
To be quite frank, we have so little time with the students (one and sometimes 2 hours a week) that not having to provide extensive lessons on these concepts allows us to pursue more advanced concepts in the limited time available. |