Early Math Skills that Matter

Parents and teachers spend lots of time helping children learn math at an early age. But what are the topics that really make a difference to the long-term mathematical ability of children? Are there certain math skills that should be learned earlier that would facilitate the learning process going forward?

Dr. David Geary, Professor of Psychological Sciences at the University of Missouri, thinks he has an answer to these questions. His most recent research has been focused on determining the "beginning of school" knowledge kids need in order to be successful through fifth grade. In an upcoming publication in the journal Developmental Psychology, Dr. Geary's paper, “Cognitive Predictors of Achievement Growth in Mathematics: A Five Year Longitudinal Study,” will present his findings about the math skills in first grade that have positive impacts on math learning through fifth grade[1].

His research--which was carried out by monitoring 177 elementary school students over a period of five years--suggests that first graders who have mastered the skills listed below will have a significantly easier time accumulating math skills up through the fifth grade:

• a firm grasp of numbers and quantities that the numbers represent
• simple arithmetic operations
• reading and using number lines 

Dr. Geary's research highlights the need for children to be fluent in simple math concepts at an early age. By highlighting the incremental nature of learning math, and the need to master the simple concepts early, Dr. Geary's team is helping teachers and parents focus on the skills that will pay the highest educational dividends for our kids.

The Peaksmart team is here to help you focus on these critical skills with lots of quizzes, drills, practices sessions, and lessons.

References

1. http://munews.missouri.edu/news-releases/2011/0711-mu-psychology-study-finds-key-early-skills-for-later-math-learning/

Treating All Students as Gifted Yields Surprising Results

If you want your child to be gifted at school, treat them as if they are gifted. This simplistic approach has yielded surprising results in several school districts that have been testing this hypothesis.

The U.S. Department of Education has studied a program in North Carolina called Project Bright Idea [1] that followed 10,000 kindergarten through second-grade students who traditionally would not have had access to gifted programs over a period of five years. The program, which was a collaboration between Duke University researchers and various school districts across North Carolina, helped train teachers to expect more from their classrooms - by treating students as gifted, regardless of their gender, socioeconomic status, or race.

The results of Project Bright Idea are encouraging [2]. Based on independent assessments of the program's results, 15-20% of the kids who participated in the gifted classroom study were categorized as intellectually "gifted" after a period of three years; prior to Project Bright Idea, only 10% of the schools' students were eligible for this distinction. These results are encouraging, and especially so in low-income school districts where some schools had no kids included in gifted programs.

By focusing on the quality of the curricula, instead of who should or should not be considered gifted, Project Bright Idea has shown that many kids are capable of so much more. By expecting our kids to perform at a higher level, we set a precedent and a way of thinking that many kids respond to positively. 

The Peaksmart team sees this in the results of many of our students. Peaksmarters are not restrained from tackling more challenging work than what they would typically encounter at school. In fact, a handful of topics in each Peaksmart grade are advanced (beyond NCTM or Common Core standards) in order to challenge our students and give them a taste of what is awaiting them in the next grade level. Of course, the Peaksmart adaptive algorithms take care to introduce these topics gradually and ensure that the student is at the appropriate level of difficulty at all times.

The Peaksmart team is inspired by the results of Project Bright Idea and we applaud the team behind it as well as all the teachers that made it a reality. We're excited to be able to provide math enrichment tools for teachers and parents that help them treat their students as gifted in math.

References

1. http://www.ncpublicschools.org/ec/idea/
2. http://today.duke.edu/2011/03/darity.html

Leaderboards are here!

Hi Peaksmart fans!
This week we bring you another much requested feature-- Leaderboards. The leaderboard will showcase the students who have earned the most points in a week either through practice or quizzes.

The top 3 students at the end of each week will receive a printable certificate through email. Off to the races we go!

We also have a new home page for students to provide easier navigation between different areas.

Finally. In addition to the leaderboard and new student home, we have also linked lessons to practice and quiz questions. Now your student can learn more about a topic right from their practice or quiz session.

We are excited about these new features. We hope you like them!

Parents + Kids + Math at Home = Success

In many households, reading a bedtime story is a tradition that parents and kids look forward to every evening. Reading together seems natural and is a fun way to bond and make memories for a lifetime. Many parents may wonder if there is a similar way to incorporate math into the family schedule...

Author and researcher Marlene Kliman thinks so. In her article, published by the National Council for Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), Beyond Helping with Homework: Parents and Children Doing Mathematics at Home [1], Kliman describes several ideas to help parents incorporate math into everyday at-home activities--such as measuring ingredients together while cooking/baking.

Another easy way to incorporate math outside of the classroom is to ask your kids lots of questions at story time, in the supermarket, in the car, on the bus, in the kitchen, etc.

• "How many dinosaurs do you have in your toy chest?"
• "How many stuffed animals are on your shelf?"
• "How much would two loaves of bread cost?"
• "How old will you be in 9 years?"
• "How many more chocolate chips do we need?"
• "How many quarter cups of flour will we scoop if we need 3/4 of a cup for this recipe?"
• "How many red cars can you count in the next 30 minutes?"

Many teachers encourage thinking mathematically outside the classroom by sending home worksheets with fun ideas that engage parents and their children. Many others keep their own websites with lots of resources that help their students' families incorporate math into all kinds of activities. Ask your child's teacher for their recommendations. One of the links you may see mentioned is hosted by the U.S. Department of Education [2] and has a lots of fun games that are inexpensive and are bound to become favorites.

Of course, Peaksmart offers a few ways to help parents and kids with math at home. Choose from quizzes, practice, drills, or lessons - and feel free to mix it up. Lessons are particularly helpful as kids progress through the grades and parents need a quick refresher course. In fact, we've written the lessons with both parents and kids in mind, so reading them together is highly encouraged!

Finally, on top of incorporating math activities into everyday activities, it's important to keep a positive attitude about math and have high expectations of your kid's math achievements. Peaksmart is here to help. We'd love to hear your ideas about activities to help incorporate math into everyday life.

References

1. http://www.nctm.org/eresources/article_summary.asp?from=B&uri=TCM1999-11-140a
2. http://www2.ed.gov/pubs/parents/Math/mathhome.html