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Post by Judy on Aug 3, 2020 7:54:20 GMT
I may well be opening a can of worms here, but it is a question that I am frequently asked when I deliver training in schools, particularly when training in Maths Mastery/Singapore Maths.
Do you think it is better for children with SEND to be given one method that always works or should they be exposed to a variety of methods? What has been your experience with children who struggle with Maths. Do they just want to be told what to do?
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Becky
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Post by Becky on Aug 3, 2020 10:25:38 GMT
That's a tricky one. I often give my SEND children two different methods for say addition for example, get them to try them, then ask them to choose the one that works best for them. I know that two many different ways causes overload for them and they can very quickly confuse themselves and the methods. Once they have decided on a method, I ask them to stick with that one and this gives them some ownership over their learning.
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Lina
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Post by Lina on Aug 3, 2020 13:38:34 GMT
I agree with Becky. I,too, Show more than one method. I teach in small groups, so what would work for one person won’t necessarily work for another. They also might find that, as they get more confident with one method, they might try a different method or a modified one of their own.
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Jenny
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Post by Jenny on Aug 5, 2020 13:56:23 GMT
It's really interesting to read the replies on this. I think in the past, I would have taught any child a variety of methods until they understand one but then it's tempting to focus on reinforcing that one and making sure they really get it. However, I can see now that there could still be methods they would find easier and for students who generally understand maths I believe that seeing/understanding more than one method leads to greater understanding. Is it wrong to deny SEND children that opportunity? I think we have to use our knowledge of the student and what we know about what understanding they have and what methods have worked for them in the past.
I'm aware that my current school does a lot of teaching methods which students follow without real understanding, but then they can't remember them later. There's always a danger that we mistake performance for learning.
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Post by Judy on Aug 6, 2020 9:50:38 GMT
I agree entirely Jenny. I also think it very much depends on the child and the teachers understanding of that child. You raise a very good point by asking if it is wrong to deny SEND children the opportunity to develop greater understanding.
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sami
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Post by sami on Aug 9, 2020 11:48:49 GMT
I agree with much of what has already been said. I have been involved in some very effective lessons when the focus is on selecting the most effective method for a given problem when the solution is already given. I think that pupils perform so much more successfully when they have ownership of the maths they are doing and understand that decision making rather than 'process following' is what makes a mathematician. So much of this is to do with the learning culture that the classroom and school encourage. As a last resort I think some pupils are presented with one effective way of finding a solution but I worry that they then think that to be successful they need to remember, copy and repeat regardless of the numbers or context. I often see this playing out in Year Six as pressure to meet SATs expectations becomes a priority. As so many of the articles suggest relying on rote learning and memorisation as a pose to understanding could then lead to other problems such as increasing maths anxiety.
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Post by Trish on Aug 10, 2020 7:30:52 GMT
Controversial question! My belief and practice is give them what they need. If they understand the concept that is my only requirement. If they have a preferred method of doing a computation so be it. Nobody will take away my preferred method of mental arithmetic or computations. It isn't that the answer is the most important outcome (but usually it is when shopping or measuring) but the following are more important - student's self esteem, self-concept and self efficacy. I have experienced parents teaching their child how to calculate and their method is sound and if the student likes it then who am I to start a conflict in their family. I show all students the preferred way ( as stated by the curriculum) and I show them my preferred way (so old the curriculum has changed) and I show them other ways that can be done. I believe empower the student to decide for themselves and build on their self-efficacy. There is caveat here that this applies to concepts taught from Kinder to year 6 ( the curriculum I am most familiar with). If I was teaching Year 11 and 12 advanced Maths I think I might have a different answer.
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Post by stevechinn on Aug 12, 2020 9:26:34 GMT
Some really great comments there and some great understandings of learners. The word 'metacognition' is appropriate here.
Different cognitive styles may take learners to preferring the method that works for them rather than 'one size fits all' Then you have to take into account that more than one method maybe too much information for some learners. Discussion around what a method does and how it does it may help understanding before they settle on 'their' method. But then that method will have to work for every example.
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Post by Emma P on Aug 14, 2021 17:59:37 GMT
This is so interesting as I would have answered differently several years ago when teaching whole classes. As a class teacher, I would have always tried to extend all pupils beyond one method or approach, believing that it was important as this would allow them more flexibility in the future. I am now a specialist teacher and no longer teach maths on a daily basis and the two pupils I have most recently worked with (both dyslexic) have significant maths difficulties (confirmed during diagnostic dyslexia assessment) and find it hard to recall any methods at all, let alone select from a repertoire of more than one.
Having now completed sessions 1 and 2 of Part 1 of the course, and starting to match my own learning with these two particular profiles, I would say both are highly likely to be dyscalculic. For both girls, a fixation on a single method, without truly understanding what they are doing or having any sense of why, is not supporting their understanding, even though for both a 'procedure' is a safety net. On the one hand, it could be argued that neither was ready for formal methods of calculation, for example for addition, and that more work to underpin their understanding of place value and number should be prioritised but, on the other, this would leave them unable to work with the same methods as their peers and perhaps reinforce negative feelings about their own abilities. One pupil (Y6) is still drawing groups of dots for division of a 2-digit number; for this pupil, this was her only strategy and she was slow, illogical in her groupings and unsuccessful; again it could be argued additional support to perfect and automatise a single preferred method that works for her may support.
As all have said, SEND pupils require support tailored to their needs; this will vary, and teachers should work with each individual profile; however, the two pupils I have in mind (Y5/6) would currently struggle to retain, and select from, different methods, much as Steve alludes to above.
I thought I had a clear answer but it's harder than I thought ...
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