Interesting question for todays discussion
When I think of the terms "drill" and/or "practice" as strategies for reinforcing math concepts I start to sweat and shake. My personal experience in elementary school was similar to what Maggie shared today. Both terms when used with certain activities (eg. memorizing multiplication facts)are lower order thinking skills. They would be used to help build understanding of concepts. When teamed with critical thinking activities and creative background foundations they could boost some of our students confidences to explore more math.
Lisa
Falmouth ELL
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2 comments:
Lisa, I can empathize with your feelings. How often do we, as teachers, give timed tests (mad minutes) to get kids to know the facts. What we should be emphasizing is strategies to figure out the facts. Developing strategies would be much more helpful in building understanding.
Drills can be intensive in that they remind me of a set routine that can be repeated over and over (and over and over) to learn the answer. Practice can be the same thing, but it’s how you practice. It doesn’t need to be routine or set to accomplish a goal. I like your last sentence about teaming. Our activities this week have been of more valuable because they involved critical and creative thinking through discovery. Just as important was sharing strategies with colleagues who brought varied backgrounds and strengths to our conversations and activities. It has proven extremely motivating and I can see how students would thrive with this kind of learning environment.
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