What can your child do to excel in math? Aristotle said, “Excellence not an act but a habit”. Top students in the GEP and PSLE math have mastered effective learning strategies, turning them into their second nature over years of practice.
The key to math success is about making small, consistent efforts in the right areas. In this article, you will find five student-led learning strategies and critical thinking skills of highly successful students. Help your child build these skills in and out of class to pave the way to steady math mastery.
1) They have a growth mindset
Students with a growth mindset perform better on tests and are more engaged in math class. They believe math intelligence can be developed with effort over time. They view mistakes as a learning opportunity rather than setbacks. In the face of math challenges, they exhibit resilience, trying different methods to find solutions.
Watch out if you heard your child saying, “I’m not good at math”. Or if you’ve ever secretly agreed to that, perhaps, your child is “just not a math person”. Such thoughts create a self-fulfilling prophecy. They dissuade your child from trying, asking questions, or persisting at a task because they think they will never succeed. A fixed mindset easily begets a self-fulfilling prophecy.
In fact, Math is the science of patterns, relationships, and problem solving. Number sense, logical reasoning, and creativity are of the essence in math mastery. Hence, when they are properly learnt, everybody can be good at math.
Successful students thrive because they believe they can turn challenges into opportunities. Your child can learn to do so, too. The next time your child complains that a math problem is too difficult, be gentle with them. Remind them to take a break. Then, when they’re ready, review the problem with them and show them how to overcome the barrier instead of giving up.
2) They ask questions while learning
The brightest students in the class are often the ones asking questions, not the ones giving answers. Harvard professors Alison Wood Brooks and Leslie K John agree, as “asking a lot of questions unlocks learning”. It creates a virtuous cycle that fosters idea exchange, drives creativity, and improves performance.
When students ask about math concepts, their brains grow stronger. Active learning ensues as they interact with new concepts, actively listen, and try to solve problems. This process also helps them retain their attention and refine higher-order thinking skills like problem solving and critical thinking. As a result, they find it easier to apply their knowledge across disciplines and into their daily lives.
Assure your child that there’s no such thing as a stupid question. Seeking help is a reflection of a growth mindset. Every question is a window for the teacher to get insights into their thinking process and where they need more clarification. This motivates them to learn more, too. With better understanding comes less frustration and more joy in learning.
It takes courage to ask a question in class, especially if your child is shy. So the next time you check in with your child in your usual on-the-car-ride-home or over-the-dinner after-school conversations, be generous with your praises and acknowledge their taking ownership of their learning.
3) They manage their time
What sets A-grade students from their peers in math is not their high IQs but their superb time management skills.
By making an effort to plan and set priorities, top scholars are more likely to steer clear of procrastination and meet deadlines with ease. This grants them more time to focus on important tasks, leading to success in school, tests, and other aspects of life.
Time management is a soft skill honed through experience and refined through practice. Help your child create a schedule and study plan for math. Encourage your child to share with you what they are learning in math at a specific time each day. By modeling disciplined time management, you instill the importance of prioritizing tasks.
4) They take breaks for reflection
Our brains are like muscles. They need breaks for peak efficiency. Getting sufficient rest recharges our brains, prevents stress, and helps to maintain sustainable performance.
Successful students take breaks. These breaks are beneficial to building critical thinking skills because they give students a chance to sharpen their focus and working memory for active learning in class. Those who give themselves a rest tend to remember what they studied, and it’s better than those that did not take breaks.
Ensure your child has downtime instead of jam-packing their timetable. Take breaks time as opportunities to guide them to reflect on their learning, connecting the day’s lesson to previously concepts or real-life applications. Highly successful students work and play hard, a principle upheld at Spark Math.
5) They set SMART math goals
SMART? Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Driven. This widely-used framework empowers your child to draw an actionable roadmap to achieve math success, with metrics to measure their progress and keep them on track. Let’s break down each component of SMART goals:
- Specific: Clarity breeds mastery. Guide your child to define the who, what, when, where, and why in their goals to drive their actions.
- Measurable: Actionable steps with tangible outcomes make it easier for your child (and you) to keep track of their progress and keep themselves accountable.
- Achievable: Be realistic about what your child can achieve given the time and resources at hand, keeping in mind that every child learns and develops at their own pace.
- Relevant: Make sure your child takes the relevant actions to accomplish the goals that matter to them. Get them proper lessons from experienced Spark Math teachers, rather than random worksheets from the Internet.
- Time Driven: Goals should have a set deadline. “Win an award in math” is ineffective because there is no urgency in achieving it. Lead your child to set a short-term deadline that will drive your child to take action.
Sit down with your child now and start writing a SMART goal they would like to accomplish. Then, plan regular goal check-ins to guide your child to reflect on and refine the goals that will set them up for true success in math.
Support your child in building highly successful habits for math success with our Spark Math online classes. Your child can look forward to animated explanations and highly interactive lessons that help to master math heuristics. Sign up for a FREE trial class to experience Spark Math today!
