A study, "early Preditors of High School Mathematics Achiement" was recently published in Psychological science. Lead researcher was Robert Siegler from Carneigie Mellon University. There has been disagreement among many who have studied low achievement of American students as to what might make a difference. This study points to the importance of learning whole number division and fractions by the age of 10. This knowledge was shown to be a better predictor of overall math achievement by the age of 16 than other factors, such as general intellectual ability and family income and education.
Another likely reason for U.S. students' weakness in fractions and division could be linked to teachers! Several other studies show that many American teachers were unable to explain the reasons behind mathematical solutions, unlike most teachers in higher performing countries.
Very interesting indeed. We all know that elementary math curriculum has been disjointed across grade levels. How have our teachers been trained in elementary math? Are you comfortable yourself? How do you respond to this research?
Formula written for math success. Learning fractions and division early will help America's students as they tackle tougher problems ahead, a research study finds. Mary Niederberger. 6.19.12. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/news/education/formula-written-for-math-success-640962/
No comments:
Post a Comment