Hi everyone,
Recently a great conversation regarding computational fluency flew across the internet highways. I thought it was worth sharing with all of you here on this blog I’d like to start by sharing a quote from the National Math Panel Report that encapsulates the essence of the growing body of research calling forth discussion around this topic.
“The mathematics curriculum must simultaneously develop conceptual understanding, computational fluency, and problem-solving skills. The development of these concepts and skills is intertwined, each supporting the other and reinforcing learning.
Teachers can help by providing students with sufficient practice distributed over time and including a conceptually rich and varied mix of problems to support their learning. In addition, teachers should encourage and support students in their efforts to master difficult mathematics content. Students who believe that effort, not just inherent talent, counts in learning mathematics can improve their performance.”
For more discussion on this topic, I’d like to point you to another great resource. (more…)