In THIS article on edweek.org, author Sarah Sparks discusses the findings of a new study, Why Mental Arithmetic Counts, done on 10th grade students and how they solve simple math problems. The students’ brains were scanned while performing single-digit arithmetic problems such as 8 + 4.
They compared which portion of the brain was activated with their PSAT scores. Students who had high activity in the section of the brain associated with memory of math facts during the activity also scored better on the PSAT than those students who had high activity in the area which is associated with processing number quantities. Conclusion:
The findings suggested that high-achieving students knew these answers by rote memory, while lower-performing students were still mentally calculating even low-level problems.
Both groups solved the problems equally quickly, but Ansari noted that the difference in how students process the problems could add time and effort as students attempt more and more complex equations.
“Perhaps the building of those networks early in development go on to facilitate high-level learning, which in turn allows you to free up working memory. It speaks to this raging debate in math education on procedural versus concept learning,” Ansari said.
We have seen this play out all the time when a student hits fractions, pre-algebra, or Algebra I. If you are still counting up in your head for 8 + 5 or 6 x 7, how can you quickly solve something like 6(3x – 7) + 5x = 50? And if you can’t do that quickly, how can you do 15 of these on test in a timely manner? Not memorizing math facts can quickly lead to a snowball effect where each higher level of math is more difficult, tedious, and burdensome than before. That’s why at Gideon we insist on memorization of math facts as shown though time and accuracy before moving into harder concepts whether the student is in 1st grade or 7th grade. Memorize the easy stuff so you can concentrate later on learning new concepts. It makes that all the difference!
Read the rest of this article HERE.