Reply To: Lesson 4-2: Automaticity vs. Memorization

[Claire Beck]

I agree that teachers are ill prepared for teaching multiplication facts and that we rely on memorization which is how we were taught. It wasn’t until I started my masters classes that I even knew there were three phases students go through when learning multiplication facts. We discovered in our masters classes that many students don’t get enough practice at the concrete phase and are forced to moved to the fact strategies phase or the mastery/ automaticity phase.

From what I have seen in third grade math, students don’t spend much time in the concrete phase, at least in our curriculum. As a 4th/5th grade teacher I’m always frustrated when students are having to use their fingers for math facts. It seems like they become reliant on that strategy and have a hard time getting to the mastery stage. Does anyone else feel this way? Should i be more accepting of this? It just seems like they need more concrete practice.

• This reply was modified 2 years, 4 months ago by  Claire Beck.