You read this correctly!  Math games have few merits, if any, and undermine your child’s progression in mathematics.

    But how can fun, enjoyable games with educational components be harmful to my child you ask.

     They are! At least most of the time.

     Okay, before I rip math games apart, I’ll be a bit kind first.  The only merits I can see with math games (when I refer to math games I’m referring to online games and software you can buy) is that they may help small children remember math facts such as addition and subtraction.

     That’s it. 

     Now for the good stuff.  Math games pose major problems which you probably haven’t thought about, but should consider.

1.  Math games only help your child learn math on a superficial level.

2.  Math games create an experience that weakens your child’s interest/motivation in learning math.

     The aim for math games is to entertain, they don’t teach your child the process nor the fundamental intricacies of mathematical reasoning and computations! 

     Huh?

     Math games don’t r-e-e-e-e—eally teach your child MATH.  For example, you may find a game that asks for simple computation (i.e. addition) and even the conversion of units. But, math games weren’t designed to teach your child how to convert improper fractions into mixed numbers nor show your child how to find the surface area of a cylinder. 

     A good math teacher understands the key parts of the lesson that guarantee both student success and failure.  Math games are too fast, flashy, and colorful to pay attention to that kind of detail.  Sure, they may be introducing and/or reinforcing some basic skills, but they’re not getting to the meat of the concept, only the bun.

     Also, most, if not all, math skills require knowledge and understanding of more basic math skills.  That is, a child will have difficulty finding common denominators if he doesn’t have proficient multiplication skills.  Math games do nothing to address this problem.  They assume that your child has the basic skills.  This is MATHEMATICS!!!  Skills, based on smaller skills, based on even smaller skills.  This is why kids have trouble in math!  They’ve missed out on some basic skills somewhere along the path, and that’s why they’re having trouble now.  Math games won’t fix this problem!

     I can draw an analogy to this entire idea of math games.

     “Let’s assume your child is doing a report on World War II.  Do you want him to spend his time reading high quality non-fiction literature in order to gain information and understanding?

Or…

     Do you want him to watch the movie Pearl Harbor (where perhaps there are some historical facts and see some mediocre acting) and play the video game Call of Duty?”

     Alright, my analogy may be a bit exaggerated, but I think you get the point.  These entertaining mediums won’t help educate your child!  Sure, they’re fun, but they have their own job…to entertain.

     This leads to my second statement that math games weaken your child’s interest in hardcore math lessons.  Let’s go back and assume that your child has watched Pearl Harbor and played the video game.  What do you think that will do to his interest level with regards to reading for information?  It may, ever so slightly, pique his interest.  Maybe.

     But let’s face it…kids are over stimulated by video games and movies.  Sitting down to read and extract information from a textbook is not as much fun for them.

So? How do playing math games and learning math in class differ from the WWII example?  I don’t believe they do all that much.

     In a nutshell…

     I’d stay away from math games IF your child is using them to improve math skills.  Sure, math games are a better way for a child to spend his/her time than watching television or doing something else unproductive.

     But if you want your child to learn math, properly, stick with real lessons.

admin Math concepts, leaning, math games, skills

     Okay, so you want to help your child in math.  Who doesn’t? Actually, about 5% of the population!

     Before I go on…yes…your child probably needs some kind of tutoring for math if you are reading this article.  The only way to improve math grades and to get the help in math is to hire someone who can help.  Right?

     Maybe not.  Everybody’s situation is different.  Understandable.  But let’s say that your child isn’t doing too badly in math.  He, or she, just needs a little boost.  Well, I will give you a simple insider trick that has helped many, many of my former students.

    It’s simple.  Here it goes:

    KEEP YOUR CHILD AT LEAST 1 UNIT AHEAD OF THE CLASS!!

    That’s it!  I can hear teachers and administrators saying, “Are you crazy Ackerman?”

     Perhaps.

     Here is what I have found in my experiences.  I have suggested to many parents in the past that they start off the year by teaching the first math unit of study BEFORE school begins (they can find out which unit their child will be studying by asking next year’s teacher at the end of June).  By doing this, parents can keep their child ahead of the classroom unit of study.  The child will be entering the classroom and the new unit with a good amount of background knowledge and skills.  He, or she, will already have most of the concepts and necessary skills required for the unit of study, and, he/she will learn new ways to see the material because it will be the second time around.

     For example:  I remember the other year having a student who consistently earned a C average in every math strand.  His mother asked me how she could help.  I suggested to her that she teach her son the next unit (which was grade 5 fractions) thoroughly (at least as thoroughly as she could) before I was going to teach it the next 2 weeks.  Since she had a decent understanding of mathematics (and she could read a textbook), she decided to do so.

    I clearly remembered her C average son starting off the unit with his hand raised ALL THE TIME trying to answer my questions.  He was correct most of the time, but that wasn’t the point!  He now had 2 new qualities:

1.  He had the CONFIDENCE to participate and become involved in the lesson.

2.  Through the lesson, he was able to improve his pre-existing math knowledge.

    Most importantly, I was able to see exactly what he needed help with and I relayed it to his mother.

     I remember Kevin getting one of his first B’s in math on the fractions test.

     Why did this work?  How could it not!!!

     It’s like going to an interview and knowing all the questions that are going to be asked.  This kid (and many others) learned the math work before coming to class.  Not only did this make my job much easier, but it boosted his confidence and gave him a better understanding of the concepts.

     There is one problem with this method though.  A parent must have a decent understanding of the child’s math curriculum.

     If you haven’t tried this, I strongly suggest you do so.  Don’t just do it once and expect immediate results (although I predict you will be surprised).  Try it a few times.  After all, unless you teach the concept completely WRONG, how can it hurt?

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admin Math

I recently received an email from a parent of a boy who I had tutored last year.  He asked me where he could find good worksheets on the internet for his son.  I thought, “Admirable…a parent who wants to help his child.” 

But then I asked him why he wanted the worksheets.  In his next email he wrote, “I want to drill division into my son’s head until he knows it like the back of his hand.”

Okay.  Great, so he’ll find a slew of worksheets. Then what?  Who is going to teach his son how to divide? 

You can’t just get on a bike for the first time and expect to ride it!!!  You need someone to guide you!

Worksheets are fine, but, only after proper instruction.  There’s no point on doing division (or any other math skill) IF YOU”RE DOING IT WRONG!!!  What this father should have been looking for (rather than math worksheets on the web) is some quality instruction.  He could have looked for an in-home tutor (he moved far away in case you were wondering why I still didn’t tutor his son), a tutoring school, or an online tutor (Tutorgiant anyone?). 

I kindly suggested to him that he should spend his time seeking quality instruction because his son will ‘learn’ how to divide properly rather than depending on math worksheets.  In his next email, he just thanked me (I’m not sure what he chose to do).

The point here is this: In my opinion, (and hopefully you appreciate it), nothing replaces quality instruction. 

When a kid gets it, the knowledge and skills become his.  There is no need to work the poor kid to the bone hoping that he learns from just doing worksheet after worksheet.  Don’t get me wrong, students need practice, and lots of it!  But focusing on the math worksheets and not the instruction is a mistake.

Finally, if a child is not getting it the first few times, keep giving him the instruction until he is nauseated with it!! Then, and only then, will you know that he understands it (imagine receiving the same basic lesson on division 10-20 times…something has to sink in and his boredom will let you know when he has learned it).

So, my answer to this situation is…math worksheets are okay, but focus on the instruction, then worry about the worksheets.

admin Math Math, worksheet

      Finding an online math tutor is not always the easiest of tasks. It is more important to know your child’s learning style before you find that ‘awesome math site’.

     You can easily ‘google’ the words ‘online math tutor’ and find pages among pages ranging from text based math tutors to online math tutoring videos.  Of course, it’s important to find a reputable math website, or at least one that seems to know how to teach math.  The problem is, though…how do you know which site is best for your child?

      Before clicking on the first math website, consider the following.  The online math tutoring website that you think is ‘cool’ may not have the best teaching mode for your child!  That is, your child’s learning style and the math website’s teaching method may not be the best fit!

      Perhaps your child is a visual learner.  Okay, then an online math website that is predominantly text based doesn’t suit your child’s learning needs.  Or, maybe your child learns by listening (he/she may be an auditory learner), then, he/she must ‘hear’ the instruction by a teacher.  Tactile (hands-on) learners learn best by doing, so, the physical process of solving problems is the best way for this child to learn.  Now some kids don’t have a dominant learning style, but they may prefer lessons that are taught in a certain way.  That’s where the motivation comes into play!  If the child is going to be interested in the way math is taught in website A as opposed to math website B, obviously, he/she will gravitate to site A and his/her math skills will improve.

      Ideally, you should find an online math tutoring website that caters to all of the learning styles!!!  This way, you’ll increase the chances that the information will be absorbed!

      Think about your own learning style.  Would you rather have directions given to you on a piece of paper, spoken out loud to you (so that you can picture it), or have a map?  We all have our preferences.  Your child is no different.

       You know your child best.  Does he/she often listen to music, enjoy television and video games, or prefer to read? 

       Find the medium that your child prefers and you will probably find the right online math tutor for your child.

admin Math math tutor, online, online tutoring, tutoring

I think people generally don’t equate organization with math as they do…perhaps writing.   I had tutored a grade 6 student who was having great difficulty with multiplication and especially division.  His parents thought that their son had either a mental block or some kind of learning difference.  So, I stepped in and tried to help.  I started him off with simple multiplication and division problems.  Surprisingly, he was okay.  But when I gave him more complex questions to do, he seemed lost.  He was following the rules but he was all over the place! 

He was not organized in his math.

I noticed that he had a good grasp of the rules for multiplying and dividing.  His biggest problem was that he wasn’t organized.  Not being organized, in this sense, is his lack of putting down numbers where they should have been.  Now, you may wonder why this is such a big deal. 

Let me tell you.  From my years of experience, I have seen it over and over again.  Quite often kids get lazy with math or they don’t care much about it (sorry to be so blunt but it’s the truth) and they don’t place the numbers where they should be.  Think about it.  If a student is carrying a number while multiplying, or bringing down a number while dividing, and he/she put the number in the wrong column, the entire answer will be wrong!  It’s common to see that most kids understand the mechanics of multiplying and dividing (see my division lesson on my homepage) but they don’t put the digits in the right place.

So what did I do for the young man?  I had him color code his math problems and use grid paper.  By color coding I mean that when he brought down or carried a number, it had to be the same color as the number that he multiplied or divided (e.g. if multiplying 5 x 28 and the 8 was purple, he would carry the 4, so the 4 had to be purple as well) and the grid let him see exactly where to put the numbers.

If your child is having the same difficulties, try what I did and it might work for you.

admin Math division, Homework, multiplication

    I have found that tutoring is quite different from teaching in the classroom. When I’m in the classroom, I have to consider teaching to a multitude of learning styles and differences. When tutoring one on one, I find myself in a different place. For example, I was tutoring a grade 8 student in math. He was having a lot of difficulty with fractions, finding volume, and algebra. I knew that I had to connect with him somehow (his confidence was definitely shot). I looked at his report card and realized that he was strong in language and history but weaker in math and science. Okay, so I understood that his dominant learning style was verbal/linguistic. So I had to come up with a way to help him with his math (especially with multiplying, dividing, and converting fractions to decimals and percents).
     I started off with fractions, specifically with dividing fractions using equivalent fractions and common denominators (that was the concept his teacher was teaching that week). Instead of starting off by showing him how to find a common denominator and divide the numerators, I wrote it down in words. Then, I had him do the same but in a procedural format. When he was done writing, I had him read it over a few times. After he was done reading, I asked him to read the steps that he wrote and do the math by following his steps.
     It took him a little while but he caught on. I used the same technique with him for his algebra and measurement. His math improved over the term and I made sure that he wrote down notes for himself in math class so that he could better understand his work.
Sometimes we have to show kids how to let the curriculum adapt to their own style of learning.

admin Math algebra, fractions, Math, tutoring, volume