This blog post addresses in ineffectiveness of multiplication drill sheets to foster life-long math skills, and suggests game-based strategies that may help students learn multiplication skills. I believe creating a game-based learning culture is necessary for achieving 'flow', and can be applied to any discipline.
In my opinion, drill sheets are an effective means for students to learn multiplication, but at the expense of disrupting student enjoyment of learning, and certainly at the expense of flow. I remember being introduced to “mad minutes” in the fifth grade; I quickly learned my multiplication tables, but I also quickly developed anxiety surrounding the speed with which I was expected to churn out the information, and was flush with embarrassment when I could not work as fast as my peers. For me, multiplication took time and planning. It was about in the fifth grade that math began to lose its pleasure, and to be looked upon as a chore. Looking back in retrospect, I believe that multiplication drills were in place because it gave my teacher a quick and easy means of assessment; while the drill sheets were not serving me, they seemed to be fitting his needs quite nicely. As I reflect upon this time in my schooling and on my journey as a future teacher, I am reminded that my pedagogy must reflect the emotional wellbeing and student engagement and flow rather than quick means of assessment, personal ease, or being able to quickly check off a bullet point for a student’s competencies. Without relationship, engagement, and joy in the classroom, our subjects become moot, and the student can lose that spark of interest that creates a life-long learner. Based on this belief, I would like to introduce three strategies that may help students with multiplication proficiency while maintaining engagement and flow: 1) Multiplication War In this card game, students divide into partners. The teacher may decide ahead of time to group students with similar levels of math proficiency in order to keep things fair, or select the partners at random. Each partner will receive a deck of cards, which is split between the two players face-down. The players each draw a card and place it face up on the deck. The student who is able to multiply the two numbers first is able to keep the cards. At the end of the deck, the person with the highest added total wins the round. 2) Multiplication Scavenger Hunt Individually or in small groups, students are given a bingo-style scavenger hunt sheet and are set to work multiplying objects in the classroom. The first team to create an ‘x’ shape (or an alternative) receives a small prize. Options for the scavenger hunt could include windows x window panes in each window, computer keyboards x the number of keys on the keyboard, number of chairs in classroom x chair legs, etc (Lynette, 2010). This activity can provide movement around the classroom, and working in pairs can enhance reciprocal learning as students’ support one another’s success. 3) Multiplication Bingo In this activity, students are given a bingo card with the sums of various multiplication tables, placed in random order (such as 28, 64, 72, etc..). The teacher calls out a multiplication set, such as “4 times 7”. If the student has the sum (28), it can be stamped, with the goal of creating a complete line. The student hands in their signed copy of the bingo sheet to ensure they have been participating (Geiger, 2016). Although activities such as these cannot always be adapted into a lesson plan due to time considerations or a teacher’s desire for more traditional instruction, I am convinced that students learn best through flow, in a low-anxiety environment, and ideally with the reciprocal support of a partner. Although game methods may make it more difficult for the teacher to assess proficiency, game methods can foster an equitable learning culture in which mathematics is not met with fear, boredom, and hostility, but with a sense of wonder. References: Geiger, Anna. (2016). Free single-player multiplication bingo. Retrieved fromhttps://www.themeasuredmom.com/free-single-player-multiplication-bingo-games/ Lynette, Rachel. (2010). Send Your Kids on a Multiplication Scavenger Hunt. Retrieved from http://minds-in-bloom.com/send-your-kids-on-multiplication/
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