by: Victor Guskova
If you care about the future of mathematics education school pupil or concrete? s lack of success in mathematics, then accelerates to think that the problem of elementary mental computational skills is insignificant or trivial. Does the level of progress in simple mental computations defines the first threshold of school math? s learning ability Put it mildly, is a little higher that the level of standard requirements. Sentenced to pupils who have not crossed this barrier to progress for the poor.
Many school children do badly in math. My demonstration of the experience that the problems begin in elementary school? the root is in poor practical skills into account and simple mental computations. All kids who have problems with addition and subtraction within 20, multiplication and division within the limits of 100 can not master many basic issues of school mathematics successfully. Have difficulty with common fractions, simple algebraic transformations, simple equations and so on.
When making a diagnosis of the quality of simple mental computational skills we must pay attention not only to correct but the swiftness of computations as well. It is a very important criterion, but often underestimate its significance. Slow mental computations are possible causes of failure in understanding more complicated operations, reducing to a common denominator, for operations with brackets and similar terms, solving simple equations.
The results of my research has allowed the calculation of the permitted level criteria of simple mental computational skills to different ages. All pupils who have not reached this level could not learn mathematics without big problems. In contrast, in those cases when it is possible to improve the skills, they begin to make progress.
I offer a simple test of the computer for the diagnosis of a level of simple mental computational skills. You can download it free on my site
You can find there also a short description of the study implemented with some figures and diagrams and a description of two effective ways to improve skills.
undoubtedly have one or several people familiar or so (maybe more or less unsuccessfully) that successfully eats a grain of science in elementary or secondary school. If you have learned the multiplication table already offer this simple test and see that many will not. A pupil must put a 64-string running simple operations not only quickly but also almost errorless. Does the speed of mental computation is one of the two criteria of automatism? the top quality of skills. While a minimum number of errors is allowed (an error will be caused not only by lack of knowledge), a trial ends in failure due to slow but there will be no error. The values \u200b\u200bof the parameters used in the experimental test were calculated in correspondence with the time spent after the multiplication table was completely studied.
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About the author
Guskova Victor, professor of mathematics, PhD. Pedagogical sciences.
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