How Does Speed and Performance Relate to Being Good at Math?

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Posted by abrigh | Posted in Math, Parents, Problem Solving | Posted on 08/19/2013

Think of a time when you witnessed someone do math quickly in their head? Did you automatically think they were good at math? You probably answered, yes. Americans are pretty convinced that if you are fast at math and don’t make mistakes then you are “good” at math. Where did we get this crazy idea?! Why do we equate mistakes in math tasks to an innate inability to learn math? (as if we are born with a certain amount of math aptitude)

Do you think children feel this way about math? What if we told them that it’s okay to make mistakes when doing math because that’s how you learn? What if we told them to think deeply about mathematics because that’s what real-life mathematicians do?

So. How does speed and performance relate to being good at math? It doesn’t. The speed at which you can do math relates to your math fluency, not how “good” you are at math. And performance in a school environment is simply feedback for a student as they are learning math and becoming more proficient.

Math. Messages. Matter.

What are your thoughts about the messages we give kids regarding math and math ability?

Comments (1)

[…] I was very excited to open my RSS feed this morning and the see the great post by Mrs. Bright, “How Does Speed and Performance Relate to Being Good at Math?” (Click the link for the full article, but here are a few of the lines that resonated with […]

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