Re:Five-Year-Olds Can Learn Calculus (2014)
by jacobolus on Tuesday September 05, 2017 @06:17AM
(#15173842)
> Learning the time tables for example - you just have to do lots of exercises to get used to multiplying. No way around that.
The way around is to just not do that.
Students get huge amounts of practice with basic multiplication if they are assigned more interesting problems/projects that use multiplication as one step, and will inevitably memorize all of the same basic facts, assuming they actually do the work.
Memorizing multiplication facts for their own sake is a soul-sucking waste of time that turns kids off from math for good.
Similarly, the way to get good at spelling is by reading engrossing books for hours every day and writing about subjects of personal interest. Studying lists of spelling words in school is beyond pointless.
These are not skills like sports or playing musical instruments, where there is a particular physical technique involving fine muscle coordination, where practicing incorrectly will establish wrong movements. Instead we’re talking about simple verbal/linguistic recall of previously seen information.
The way around is to just not do that.
Students get huge amounts of practice with basic multiplication if they are assigned more interesting problems/projects that use multiplication as one step, and will inevitably memorize all of the same basic facts, assuming they actually do the work.
Memorizing multiplication facts for their own sake is a soul-sucking waste of time that turns kids off from math for good.
Similarly, the way to get good at spelling is by reading engrossing books for hours every day and writing about subjects of personal interest. Studying lists of spelling words in school is beyond pointless.
These are not skills like sports or playing musical instruments, where there is a particular physical technique involving fine muscle coordination, where practicing incorrectly will establish wrong movements. Instead we’re talking about simple verbal/linguistic recall of previously seen information.