How to help kids learn maths in the UAE

Long division and long multiplication have been replaced in schools by chunking and gridding. While the new methods are meant to make maths easier, parents have been left scratching their heads. This has not only has it proved problematic for parents trying to support their children with homework, the distance learning programmes that children have had to undertake during the last few months has really highlighted the issues mums and dads are facing.

We chat to Alex Quinn, year six head and maths co-ordinator at Victory Heights Primary School, about maths now, versus maths when we were younger.

How has the way maths is taught changed over the last 30 years?

In the early 2000s, there was a significant shift towards constructivist learning methods, in which children would take ownership of their own learning, and the teacher would ‘facilitate’ their learning by providing a suitable environment and equipment (where necessary). Children would learn through discovery, not through explicit instruction. Some schools still take this approach, whilst many have moved back towards an approach where instruction is primarily teacher led.

The changes seem to make it hard for parents to support their children with maths at home.

Parents would be surprised at how much they know. There are subtle differences in some of the terminology we use, but on the whole mathematical procedures have been constant for thousands of years.

Maths seems a lot more fun nowadays.

In the early years (EYFS), child centred learning is still the predominant approach that British schools take, and rightfully so. For despite criticisms levelled at discovery learning approaches later on in life, for the developing child, who may not fully develop until seven (or perhaps even later), play based approaches to learning are seen as optimal both in maintaining interest and allowing children to develop at their own pace. As we move through the school, however, our focus as maths teachers, is focussed around achievement. Developing a strong understanding of maths, and achieving success in each and every maths lesson, leads to children having a greater sense of self-worth, and motivation to continue learning.

Some kids feel anxious about maths and believe that they ‘just aren’t very good’.

There are a number of reasons why this may happen, and often it can be as a result of a multitude of these reasons combining. One thing we see quite often is that parents often talk about maths in quite a negative way. They can describe their experiences with early maths as being challenging, comments such as “I was never any good at maths,” or indeed, when faced with maths homework, may dismiss the importance of maths in everyday life… “I’ve never needed to calculate the area of a triangle in my job”. This can cause maths reluctance in children, and is something that we strongly recommend parents to be aware of, whether they are doing this consciously or subconsciously. Another reason why children may find maths difficult is that it is progressive in difficulty. There are certain core skills such as times tables and number bonds, upon which a lot of other maths rely heavily on. If these skills are lacking, children find more complex challenges overload their cognitive architecture and are unable to keep up. This is why we promote fluency in these areas as an absolute essential.

Can you share some examples of methods used to teach maths today?

The grid method is a way of simplifying multiplications so that children can not only work with numbers that are easier to multiply (and then use addition to finish the calculation), but it also promotes the understanding that numbers can be ‘partitioned’ into their components and worked with separately.

Why are there so many different methods for working out the same problem?

This is the beauty of maths! Maths is a historical construct, built upon the knowledge of past generations. We should revel in the joy that for thousands of years, great mathematicians have developed methods to perform calculations ranging from the simple to the extremely complex. Of course, some strategies are more efficient than others. As children develop their mathematical ability they will begin to swap out strategies that are easier but inefficient, towards more efficient solutions that rely on greater fluency and understanding.

Does it matter if children get the right answer to a maths problem not using one of these methods?

The answer is maybe! We try to teach children efficient strategies that take into account their prior knowledge and understanding. Some children may find that they develop strategies that are more efficient, or work better for them. This generally is fine. What we as educators, and parents alike, must be wary of, is that it is sometimes possible to ‘solve’ a problem using a strategy and only by chance arrive at the correct result. I would also ask the child to show me that the strategy works for another calculation or problem, before deeming it a successful solution.