Everyone knows the old adage "practice makes perfect." But how true is it really? Well, the general consensus among scientific researchers is: very true. A study by Vanderbilt University says that "the process of remembering concepts or facts - retrieving them from memory - increases long-term retention of those concepts or facts". This is known as "test-enhanced learning", and is based on the scientifically proven idea that answering a question or practicing a skill consistently will make it significantly easier to remember or perform in the future. So to get your child started, here are some simple steps to take:
-
Generate math questions for your child to attempt.
-
Grade the answered questions in a timely manner while your child remains engaged.
-
Discuss with your child the areas he or she needs to focus on.
-
Utilize a new explanation approach if your child is having trouble understanding the concepts.
-
Repeat the above steps until your child is able to answer the questions quickly and correctly.
These steps may feel overwhelming, however, there are several math platforms that can assist you in most of these steps. Still not sure which software to use? Try Sqooasha! At Sqooasha, we offer engaging math tutorials and generate endless practice questions so that your child can practice as long as they need to, and you as a parent don’t have to constantly generate new questions for them. You can simply log your child onto Sqooasha, and we'll take care of the rest. Whether you use a math software or not, exposing your child to a sufficient amount of practice problems is a surefire way for your child to establish a long-term retention of the learned mathematical concepts.