https://hechingerreport.org/the-science-of-reading-swept-reforms-into-classrooms-nationwide-what-about-math/ Covering Innovation & Inequality in Education Wed, 13 Sep 2023 20:15:26 +0000 hourly 1 https://hechingerreport.org/the-science-of-reading-swept-reforms-into-classrooms-nationwide-what-about-math/comment-page-1/#comment-55181 Wed, 13 Sep 2023 20:15:26 +0000 https://hechingerreport.org/?p=95780#comment-55181 I am an Orton-Gillingham certified reading teacher (phonics approach), who, for several years, has been learning about using this type of approach to teaching math and using the techniques with remedial high school and college students. I’ve found that math teachers may make assumptions (like assuming students know that the horizontal line in a fraction is the same as a division sign, let alone that it’s the same as that division notation that uses a vinculum). I once taught basic arithmetic to a learning disabled 30-something woman. We began with vocabulary and basic calculations. When she got as far as adding numbers that required carrying (what my math colleagues now call “regrouping”), she carried TO THE RIGHT (in spite of much drill over places). I realized then how confusing math is. In English we read left to right and top to bottom. In math, sometimes we go left to right, sometimes we go right to left, and sometimes we begin in the middle. Knowing which isn’t intuitive. Knowing that 6 ÷ 2 is read from left to right does not tell you that 2⟌6 means exactly the same thing, but is read from right to left (“six divided by two”). There are many more examples. I’ve found that teaching clear vocabulary with examples, one step at a time, helps people who “hate” math. People are doing the research and more needs to be done. And yes, students need to learn math facts. When I finally mastered the times tables (at age 22), my math skills improved fantastically.

]]> https://hechingerreport.org/the-science-of-reading-swept-reforms-into-classrooms-nationwide-what-about-math/comment-page-1/#comment-55144 Tue, 12 Sep 2023 22:35:59 +0000 https://hechingerreport.org/?p=95780#comment-55144 I am an extremely successful teacher of foundational math. The games approach teaches kids not to take math seriously. The techniques, listed in the article work extremely well. Students need to first memorize math facts, to establish a solid foundation to build on. Systematic and explicit teaching, using small chunks of material builds the foundation. Then, creatively applying this foundation to real life problems gives the math meaning and gets extraordinary results.

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