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

[Kayla Robillard]

I found the lesson to be very interesting. I have been questioned by some of the teachers and parents that I have worked with on this back-to-basics approach verses discovery approach, which is sometimes hard to explain to someone. I like the explanation used here. Going back to the beginning of concepts, I think is huge in order to see exactly what and where the students are at. I found myself doing this this year multiple times in order to make sure the students had a full understanding. I also think that part of the struggle is that not all teachers think in this discovery way, so when you get students who have been in a “back-to-basics” classroom for a couple of years, it takes a while to have be comfortable in the more discovery type of classroom. It takes them a while to feel like they are capable in math class and know that they can do the work it was just never delivered to them this way before. I think that knowing and having a recollection of multiplication facts does help in the older grades, I don’t think that they have to be “memorized”. Students can have an understanding of multiplication that will enable them to solve any type of multiplication; including the basics facts.