{"id":239768,"date":"2023-04-26T03:09:30","date_gmt":"2023-04-26T03:09:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buoyantbloomer.com\/?p=239768"},"modified":"2023-07-26T03:06:08","modified_gmt":"2023-07-26T03:06:08","slug":"new-math","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buoyantbloomer.com\/new-math\/","title":{"rendered":"How the principles of new math hurts our kids – and what to do instead"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Listen up parents who are scared of math: new math happened while you were adulting and just like with the move to balanced literac<\/a>y, you are going to have homework to do with your kids because of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It never fails to astound me how every couple of decades, the US adopts a \u201cnew\u201d way of teaching that messes with the science of learning and dooms a generation of students. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As with the debacle over the science of reading, the US inexplicably took a turn towards unscientific math instruction<\/a> aka \u201cnew math\u201d starting in 1995. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As the authors of the study note: <\/p>\n\n\n\n There are some good aspect of new math, chief among them, the drive to give kids number strategies and a deeper sense of numbers (instead of just rote memorization). But the issue with the way we are teaching new math is the uneven quality of instruction. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For many parents with young kids today, they will likely have attended school in the 80s and early 90s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since then, this is what happened with new math:<\/p>\n\n\n\n So parents of young kids today, this is what this all means:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your kids are likely no longer being asked to know facts by heart or achieve math fluency. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This is a BFD – big effing deal – pardon my language. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you don\u2019t know your facts, the science of learning says you will not be able to reason your way through complex problems. New math is deadly to numeracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cognitive science explains how the brain solves problems based primarily on the interaction of three of the brain\u2019s components: the attention filter, working memory (WM), and long-term memory (LTM) <\/p>\n\n\n\n During problem solving, the slots of WM must hold the novel (new or problem specific) chunks of problem data. Novel data chunks that must be stored in WM slots include the problem goal, initial data\/information, and answers found at middle-steps that must be looked up or mentally calculated rather than quickly recalled from LTM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n WM is limited in capacity by its number of slots. During problem solving, if the data are sounds or symbols such as letters, words, or numbers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n WM capacity is an average of 2 to 3 slots at age 7, gradually increasing to an adult average of four slots at age 14. WM capacity varies among individuals but is 3 to 5 slots for most adults. It remains essentially constant through adulthood until old age, when it has been found to decrease <\/p>\n\n\n\n WM is also limited in duration. Repeatedly reciting information orally or mentally can keep it stored in WM, but during other processing, including problem solving, each slot in WM can retain a chunk of novel data for only 30 seconds or less.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your ability to solve math problems in a topic depends in large measure on the number and size of chunks you have thoroughly memorized about the topic. New math does not respect this reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So who\u2019s going to design solutions for climate change if kids have no working long term memory and they\u2019ve run out of slots to hold data chunks?<\/p>\n\n\n\n To learn is to change LTM in ways that either store and\/or connect new information, or better connect and\/or more strongly store previously stored information. <\/p>\n\n\n\n if chunks are repeatedly processed together over multiple days, a record of the processing tends to become consolidated: related chunks that fire at close to the same time wire to form larger chunks in LTM. As problems of increasing complexity are solved, chunking gradually wires into LTM larger, more strongly wired, and better-organized conceptual frameworks for topics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is why Buoyant Bloomer is all about using that golden window of learning opportunity – 3-6 year olds – purposefully. Your child can play all day when they\u2019re young. 15-30 minutes of targeted, hands-on instruction so your child can build a solid learning foundation is an amazing use of time and still gives your child the play-based childhood they deserve.\u00a0Supplementing preschool at home<\/a> gives you the confidence that your child will build an impeachable foundation of learning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n True story: our son became fluent with basic addition facts because he was obsessed with getting faster at snakes and ladders and had been playing the game since he was 3.5 years old. <\/p>\n\n\n\n On the walk to school in the mornings, the husband would then make up word stories involving construction vehicles which gave him extra practice. These turned into subtraction only problems when we were confident he knew his addition facts and needed to start working on his subtraction skills. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Balanced literacy and new math are bad news bears for kids growing up today. The time it will take for school districts to pivot to teaching grounded in the science of learning is sadly too slow. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Take matters into your own hands. Make a plan for how you will teach your children if your school is using methods that are not aligned with the science of reading or the science of math. You don\u2019t have to abandon the public school system – you DO need a strategy for ensuring that your child is learning in a way that scientific research says is optimal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Listen up parents who are scared of math: new math happened while you were adulting and just like with the move to balanced literacy, you are going to have homework to do with your kids because of it. It never fails to astound me how every couple of decades, the US adopts a \u201cnew\u201d way […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":239769,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[55,66],"tags":[63,67,59],"class_list":["post-239768","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-accelerated-learning","category-preschool-at-home","tag-how-to-supplement-public-school-education","tag-make-smart-decisions","tag-supplementing-schools"],"yoast_head":"\nThis change assumed the brain could reason in mathematics without relying on memorized knowledge. Scientists who study the brain have recently verified this assumption was mistaken. Due to stringent limitations in working memory (where the brain solves problems), mathematical problem-solving of any complexity requires applying well-memorized facts and procedures. <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n While you were away…<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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What does the science say?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
What parents can do to address new math and support mathematical fluency<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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