July 9, 2023

Taking Math Day by Day

How The Use of Daily Math Practice Can GREATLY Benefit Someone’s Ability to Perform and Retain Their Learnings

Let’s face it, math is HARD. It’s harder for some than others, and that is okay. But no matter where you or someone else on your math journey, you can never go wrong with some daily practice.

Daily math practice has proven significant results, nourishing many skills and traits that can pour into other realms of knowledge. It doesn’t have to be too hard or extensive, but just enough to keep the learning productive and challenging enough for optimal retention.

Below are some core benefits of daily math practice and even some TIPS to help you and others get started on building this daily habit!

Benefits of Daily Math Practice

Builds Confidence in Students: It’s easy to get caught up in the frustration of a mentally taxing task, which can turn someone off from doing the work entirely. That’s why it’s useful to make math practice a regular thing- it establishes the space AND time to work on the tough stuff! The frustration will slowly diminish over time as the practicing becomes more consistent. Not only that, but building the confidence in their intellectual capabilities can carry into other realms of education, improving overall performance!

Less Room for Forgetfulness: The stress and anger towards math ruminates most likely due to the misunderstanding or disconnect from the content itself. When a student is unable to remember key factors in the math they’re learning, they probably won’t grasp the lesson at all. With a steady approach, students can retain what they learned in smaller time frames and build as they go.

Decreases the Likelihood of Strenuous Test Prep: Everyone HATES nasty amounts of prep the night before a big exam, right? It’s probably because of the sheer quantity of how much being asked to remember AND solve, which is difficult for a dense subject like math. When you categorize math that’s eventually going to be assessed, there’s more room to focus on precise objectives for each of the lessons. It’s much less arduous to break it up for specialized focus than dumping it all on one person to figure out!

More Meticulous Tracking of Progress: Instead of experiencing overwhelming or massive stress at the lack of positive change, daily math practice will give smaller chunks of progress to assess! This is especially helpful to educators, tutors, even guardians helping kids with their math. Fixed evaluation makes someone’s educational experience more digestible and easier to modify, which is beneficial for both students AND their educators.

The Scores will Show the Work: The more practice, the better the outcomes! This can be heavily applied to many processes of learning: sports, art, music, and more importantly SCHOOL. Math is one of those topics that many young people are not immediately affluent in, which makes assessment that much more draining. Providing a framework of steady studying will allow these students to enter this opportunity with a much less pessimistic attitude than if you were to let them drown in the overwhelm.

Implements Growth Mindset: There is such a thing as intelligent failing for optimal growth. If you’re not familiar with a growth mindset, it’s allowing someone to experience obstacles in an area of learning to actively retain useful lessons from. In math, it’s important for students to LEARN from their mistakes; this helps them to relearn what they didn’t previously remember or recognize, thus helping them develop stronger problem solving skills!

These are just some of the infinite benefits to making math practice a daily habit- and if you’re compelled to make this a routine in YOUR life or someone else’s, great! There are, however, some key factors to consider when formulating your own approach to this discipline.

Tips For Math Review for RESULTS

Consistency is KEY: This NOT one of those things you can do for a few days then pitter out and expect drastic results. The key to unlocking REAL change is the continuation of the habit itself, and focusing on QUALITY rather than quantity. Start out with five to fifteen minutes per day before increasing the volume of the math practice; this will help build a strong foundation for the daily ritual without starting off so strong you intimidate someone out of it with stress.

Provide a Strong Foundation or Framework: If you’re helping a young child or student out on their math journey, you might want to consider their own level of math understanding first! It would be silly to just dive head first into a topic they haven’t even heard of, you know? So, start by observing and gaining useful insight into their level of difficulty, efficiency, etc. so you can give them basic rules, formulas, and resources that’ll guide them.

Communicate for Deeper Insight: It’s IMPORTANT to keep an open line of communication about many things here. Expectations, objectives, goals, and more should not be automatically assumed when entering this educational space- and this is something that can be built upon! And it’s crucial to let the student or young child know they are heard, seen, and validated for the perspective they have. Nurturing their progress with honesty and respect can go a LONG way.

Integrate Test Prep Into Routine Coursework: There are such things as standardized tests and entry exams, which is something to consider! This may be on an individual or school basis, so gain grounding in upcoming exams (even in just regular school) to help you articulate the necessities for daily practice.

Provide FUN + New Ways to Practice: Many people, especially kids, respond well to fun & pleasure! In terms of daily math practice, incorporate a fun trivia question or three question entry or exit assessment to refresh their knowledge from the day or lesson prior. You can go even bigger by doing weekly review games as a way to keep the kid(s) energized and actually excited about showing off what they’ve learned!