It seems to be that every parent and teacher wants their child to get 100%. I understand this – it’s very important to aim to get every question correct.
There are two concerns: it’s demotivating when the child doesn’t get full marks, and there is little opportunity to try again. It’s a little old fashioned to talk about practice making perfect but, at least in maths, there are great benefits in encouraging your child to repeat the work.
In much the same way that learning times tables can be helped with regular repetition – so repeating the same homework again, can give the child a distinct advantage.
I’m not sure that we need to change the questions to similar ones. If the child didn’t get it the first time around simply changing numbers won’t make any difference. What’s important is that they learn from their mistakes.
Take this type of question:
300 – 159 = ?
Whichever method you use the child is likely to get it wrong. Sorry to be a little generalised here but it can be a difficult concept to understand for many. In fact, such is the concern, that the National Curriculum addresses it in at least 5 different ways. 3 of them are on the YouTube videos.
So my point is a little repetition can go a long way. Choose a method, stick to it, and encourage your child to become proficient. The only way to do that is to practice and, perhaps, practice again.
You don’t need to change the numbers, move the goalposts or explain in a different way. Just give your child the encouragement to try again. If they didn’t get 100% the first time, it’s an opportunity to learn; not a disappointment.
When the child learned to walk how many different ways did you show them? What did you do? It’s the same with any subject, not just maths, – keep practising: aim to get 100% but don’t worry if you’re a bit wobbly to start with!
What do you think?
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