I think we can all agree that knowing the basics in Maths is a skill that we carry throughout our lives, yet it seems that we are moving further and further away from the ‘tried and true’ Maths learning methods that our Grandparents, parents, and even Gen-Xers (me!) did at school. Strategies like rote learning (or memorising) have fallen out of favour, yet studies have shown time and time again, that repetition helps things ‘stick’ in our brains. I remember as a child, having to practice times tables for homework and we all recited them (maybe not enthusiastically!) on a daily basis in the classroom. And these strategies worked! To this day, I can recall my times tables perfectly. Yet my children, who didn’t learn by rote at school still have trouble with recalling their times tables.
So the argument can be made that we need to go ‘back to basics’ and for Maths, in particular, strong foundational strategies have never been more important.
Here are five strategies that can help your child do better in Maths:
1. Build a Strong Foundation: Ensure that your child has a strong foundation in Maths by reviewing basic concepts and principles regularly. This includes – addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, decimals, and percentages. Reinforce the basics by having your child practice regularly.
2. Encourage Practice: Practice is key to improving Maths skills. Encourage your child to practice maths problems regularly, and provide them with different types of maths problems to work on. This will help your child build problem-solving skills and increase their confidence in their abilities.
3. Use Real-Life Examples: Make maths fun and relevant by using real-life examples. For example, use cooking to teach measurements and fractions, use shopping to teach percentages, and use sports to teach statistics. This can help your child see the practical applications of maths and make it more interesting. At Voyager School, all our Maths courses incorporate real-life examples and worked solutions to help solidify concepts or show students where they went wrong and how to fix it.
4. Make Maths Fun: Make maths fun and engaging by incorporating games, puzzles, and interactive activities into their learning. This can help your child develop a positive attitude towards maths and increase their motivation to learn. At Voyager School, we incorporate interactive activities in all of our lessons. Our Review quizzes recap concepts taught in a particular lesson and our End of Unit Quizzes test concepts learnt over a whole course.
5. Get Help: If your child is struggling with maths, seek help from a tutor, teacher, or online resources. This can provide your child with additional support and help them understand the concepts better. Encourage your child to ask questions and seek clarification when they don’t understand something.
I hope this article has given you some ideas to help you and your child on their educational journey!
