Clemence Jennah December 6, 2020 Worksheet
Teaching needs to be more than passing out worksheets. Whether you are the classroom teacher, instructional specialist, or parent, the methods you use greatly impact the level of understanding achieved by your students. Here are five reasons why math worksheets don’t work if you want students to understand math, enjoy math, and think mathematically.
Some students are unable to access tools that many of us take for granted when they try to complete worksheets. They may be unable to grasp pencils, control their movements within the limited spaces provided on the sheet, or be able to simply stabilize their paper while writing. Other students, including those for whom English is not their primary language or who struggle with reading, have difficulty reading the directions, words, and math terminology on the worksheets. Still other students require different visual representations or methods of engagement in order acquire an understanding the content. Most math worksheets do not provide information in multiple formats so they are inaccessible to students with a wide variety of learning styles and abilities. Well-designed technology can provide these students with access to excellent content. For example, these fractions tools and supplemental curriculum allow students with physical disabilities to access fractions content using a variety of assistive technology devices. Instructions, prompts and feedback can be read aloud, while visual models, cues combined with sounds support a wide range of learning styles and abilities.
Math worksheets are often assigned as an independent activity, however research indicates that communication and discourse are needed to build a deep understanding of math topics. Students need opportunities to explore mathematical ideas in different ways and to build their own connections. This involves communicating their ideas, listening to the ideas of others, arguing a viewpoint, describing, and explaining. Math worksheets are rarely used as a catalyst for conversation. Instead of assigning worksheets, find activities that encourage discourse, such as ”number talks,” or collaborative group work. During the session, be sure to require students to explain their thinking and listen to the strategies and thinking of their peers. If you are fortunate enough to have an interactive whiteboard in your classroom, using it with interactive math software creates many opportunities for group discussion and student participation. Teachers can can begin by posing problems and modeling approaches, and then ask students to work together to find solutions. Then have them come to the board to demonstrate their solutions in front of the class. These days, many examples of how to teach math concepts on an interactive whiteboard can be found online in the various whiteboard community sites, educational sites, YouTube, etc.
What are math worksheets and what are they used for? These are math forms that are used by parents and teachers alike to help the young kids learn basic math such as subtraction, addition, multiplication and division. This tool is very important and if you have a small kid and you don’t have a worksheet, then its time you got yourself one or created one for your kid. There are a number of sites over the internet that offer free worksheets that are downloadable and printable for use by parents and teachers at home or at school.
The most important thing about these math worksheets is that they are used for tutoring and not for the main course studies. That is why they are used by tutors to offer remedial tuition and by parents at home so that they can offer their kids extra tuition to sharpen their skills. Math is known to be difficult and is often a headache for the young and so the math worksheets come in handy in helping resolve this problem. Thanks to the sites over the internet that offer free printable math worksheets, you do not need to worry about the cost of purchasing one, maybe only the ink cost. So don’t go making excuses for not being able to access a math work sheet.
Numerous research studies have found that when students are actively engaged with the content, they have a much better chance of understanding and remembering what they have learned. Unfortunately, math worksheets tend to bore most students, especially those who need the most help in math. Engagement entails much more than rote repetition of a procedure. Math worksheets tend to present very similar problem types over and over, leading to mundane practice of disassociated skills. For students who understand the material and successfully complete an assignment, another worksheet becomes meaningless. On the other hand, for the students who don’t understand the material, an alternative method of instruction is what’s needed. Another worksheet simply adds to the student’s frustration, or worse, contributes to a belief that ”I’ll never understand math.” A cute image or a ”fill-in-the-blanks” riddle does nothing to increase engagement or learning (and let’s face it, those riddles are not funny!). Instead, teachers need to increase engagement by providing students with exercises in which they discover patterns and relationships, solve problems, or think creatively about math relationships.
Recent Post
Categories
Archive
Most Popular
Tag Cloud
first in math cheats year 7 math test printable free mathematics worksheets grade 6 percentage worksheet adding subtracting and multiplying decimals math and english test for an interview derivative math problems math websites for college students integer games free math fraction games 2 digit addition with regrouping worksheets making a fraction a decimal make your own grid paper kumon days pre math test free printable multiplication chart math problems for 8th graders worksheets with answers 4th grade math curriculum solve equation calculator algebra christmas tree math worksheetsLatest Review
Latest News
Recent Post
AboutContactCookie PolicyCopyrightPrivacy PolicyTerms of Use
© 2021 Zacksinvest. All rights reserved.