Help Your Child Master Math Using Multiple Intelligences

For many people, math class is stressful. But often the problem isn’t the math itself: it’s the way it’s being taught. Anyone can be good at math if they’re lucky enough to find a teacher whose methods align with their personal strengths.
In 1983, Howard Gardner published his theory of “Multiple Intelligences.” He disputed the belief that “intelligence is a single faculty and that one is either ‘smart’ or ‘stupid’ across the board.” Instead, he observed that people rely on a variety of skills that help us resolve problems and difficulties. He grouped these skills into seven different sets and called them “intelligences.” Furthermore, he observed that each person uses a different combination of these skills: “We each have a unique blend of intelligences.”
But schools aren’t set up to accommodate personal differences. They are designed to be uniform. Schools are supposed to be fair, to make sure that everybody has equal access and no one has special advantages. But as Gardner argues, “We obviously look different from one another, and have different personalities and temperaments. Most important, we also have different kinds of minds.” So while the conventional method of lecture and note-taking works for some students, it bypasses the needs of many others. Students conclude that they’re not good at math, when all they really need is a different approach to learning it.
In his book Math for Humans, Mark Wahl offers tips on how to make math accessible to all kids by including all of Gardner’s Intelligences. Here are some strategies on how to tie math to the seven skill sets. Parents can use these ideas at home to help students study. Additionally, they could be suggested as strategies for teachers or tutors.

Musical

This child enjoys making music or rhythm. For her, music evokes emotion and a kind of mental satisfaction independent of rational thinking.

• Use songs, jingles, raps, clapping, or rhythmic music to help recall and recite concepts or tables. For instance, sing the quadratic formula to the tune of “Pop goes the Weasel,” or the 4’s times tables to “Jingle Bells.”
• Play music before and possibly during homework time to get the brain focused. If your child can learn to associate a particular song with studying a concept, remembering that song may help her recall the concept while taking a test.
• Learning an instrument has been shown to improve performance in math. Music teacher Kathy Morey says, “The longer I teach and study music, the more convinced I am that the ancient Greeks knew what they were talking about when they included music as one of the essential subjects in a complete education. And particularly music and math have a very close affinity. Children who learn to read music and to play an instrument or to sing are experiencing involvement of all of their senses, kinesthetic, visual and aural, as they apply, consciously or subconsciously, connections that directly link to their mathematical thought processes.”

Preschool Math: Exploring Patterns

Patterns are all around us, from the clothing we wear to the repeating patterns found in nature and everyday routine. Patterning is also a basic math skill upon which many mathematical concepts are based. Times tables, addition and skip counting all require an understanding of and proficiency in patterning. In preschool, identifying and creating patterns is just the beginning of the mastery of life-long mathematical skills.
How can you introduce your preschooler to patterning? "Children find patterns from looking around and noticing," says Grace Davila Coates, Program Director of Family Math (Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California at Berkeley) and co-author of Family Math for Young Children. She says that a parent's job is to recognize patterns and point them out, in clothes, on the sidewalk, and everywhere patterns are to be found. In short, using the world around you and objects from around the house will introduce your child to patterning and give him a head start in mathematical thinking.
Pattern Basics:

• A pattern is only a pattern if it is repeated twice.
• The easiest patterns are those involving two colors or variables (for example, red, blue, red, blue), referred to as an AB,AB pattern. More complex patterns include ABC, ABC; AABB,AABB; AAB,AAB; ABB, ABB; and ABCD,ABCD.
• Be sure to give your child the opportunity to “read” his pattern when it is complete. This will allow him the opportunity to fix any misplaced objects in his pattern.

Identifying Patterns in Your World:
By taking the time to notice and identify patterns with your child, he will begin to see and identify them as well. Be on the lookout for some of these patterns as you go through your day:

• Many patterns can be found in the fabric used to create clothing. Stripes, prints, and plaids often repeat themselves providing many opportunities for identifying patterns as you go through the day.  
• Many shoes have a pattern on the bottom of the sole. Notice shoe tracks when you walk through dirt or make prints with wet soles.
• Nature provides patterns in flower petals, colorful gardens, and even in the coats of animals such as tigers and zebras.
• Once children are aware of patterns they will begin to see them in everything. They might notice that breakfast is served in a pattern:  yogurt, eggs, pancakes; yogurt, eggs, pancakes or that they have school one day, and stay home the next. Do you have patterns in your weekly schedule or daily routine? Help your child become aware of your everyday patterns.
• When you go to the grocery store, notice patterns in the food displays, display cases, and even the floor tiles. Even grocery shopping can be a learning time if you take note of what is around you.

Create and Extend Patterns:

• Provide opportunities for your child to extend a pattern you have started or to create her own pattern using items found around your house such as the following:
• When serving small crackers or cereal that comes in multiple colors, ask your child to create a pattern with her food before eating it.
• String beads or colored cereal into a beautiful patterned necklace for hands-on pattern work.
• Use blocks, Legos or other small toys to create patterns across the room. The longer you make it, the more fun it is (and the more practice for your little one)
• Use stickers or rubber stamps to make patterns on paper. Your child will be delighted in the opportunity to use these fun tools for learning.
• Create movement patterns as you move across the back yard, down the street or through the  park. For example walk, walk, jump; walk, walk, jump. Try any of these movements to add to the fun: skip, run, jog, hop, turn, and sit.

Patterns are all around us, as are opportunities to teach your child more about them. The key to teaching this basic math skill is to make your child aware of patterns and give her opportunities to create and extend patterns in daily life. After just a bit of practice, you will be amazed at how often he'll find patterns that you don’t even see!

Math for Preschoolers: More Than Just Counting

Preschool-age children are ready to explore more than one might think! Parents often focus on counting from one to ten, but there are many other skills that children are ready and able to investigate.
Familiarity with Numbers
This includes the basic counting aloud, but also identifying printed digits and practicing one-to-one correspondence (pointing to actual objects and counting aloud one by one). Before a car ride, give your child a paper with a number (0-9) printed on it. Then challenge him to find as many of that number as he can during the ride, on signs, billboards, license plates, etc. One-to-one correspondence can be practiced during most snacks by counting crackers, fruit snacks, or carrot sticks.
Number Operations
We're not looking at E=mc2 or multiplication tables yet. Joining sets and dividing groups is age-appropriate. This can be as simple as counting a pile of red blocks, then a pile of blue blocks, then counting them all together. Or taking six cookies and dividing among three friends.
Measurement
No rulers required. To introduce time, make reference to clocks and calendars and talk about "today, yesterday, and tomorrow." For comparisons, a child can pull all the socks and underwear out of her drawer, then count each group. Which group has more and which has less? (Bonus: the drawer is organized when everything goes back in!) Help children use non-standard measurements by asking questions such as, "How many spoons long is the table?"
Shapes
Beginning geometry is simple shape recognition. A grocery store is the perfect place for a shape search. Look for rectangles, triangles, circles, squares. There are also many good games and books available to work on this concept.
Patterns and Sorting
Preschool children can make simple patterns and repeat them, using shapes and color recognition skills to guide them. When putting toy cars into a row, encourage a pattern, such as "blue, blue, red, yellow, blue, blue, red, yellow." Make a game of sorting toys and household items by attributes such as size, color, shape, etc.
Preschool isn't just about 1, 2, 3s and A, B, Cs. It's about teaching your child to take joy in learning, and to recognize that the world is full of fun lessons waiting to happen!

2nd Grade Math: What Happens

Second grade math starts with a review of the basics from first grade and then moves to a series of new skills. Your budding mathematician will learn to order, label, and express quantities to solve problems. He or she will also begin to convert language into mathematical problems – understanding the math of everyday life while getting a little more formal with the way he or she expresses math problems. Pretty soon “take away” becomes minus and subtraction. Suddenly a simple “and” between phrases can make it an addition problem. Soon fractions become a part of your child's math world, as do patterns and spatial relationships.

Here's what your child should be able to do before starting second grade math:

• Work with patterns and sequences
• Add and subtract single and two-digit numbers
• Tell time by hours and minutes
• Estimate and predict simple outcomes
  
• Count money
• Identify place values to hundreds
• Practice measuring length, capacity, and weight
• Work with geometric shapes
• Become familiar with the concept of symmetry

• Count higher that 100
• Identify the fractions 1/2, 1/3, and 1/4
• Solve simple word problems

By the end of second grade students working at the standard level:

• Add and subtract two-and-three-digit numbers
• Collect and compare seasonal temperatures using a thermometer
• Use time to sequence events of the day
• Recognize, identify, and create a circle, quadrilateral, rhombus, square, triangle, trapezoid, hexagon, and parallelogram
• Compare and contrast the characteristics of shapes
• Model and find the perimeter of simple shapes
• Estimate and measure length, weight, and capacity using standard units of measurement
• Use appropriate tools and terms to explore measurement

3rd Grade Math: What Happens

Third grade is a flagship year for math, as it's the bridge from simple computation to more complex skills. Your child will learn the multiplication and division facts. Sure, it may seem simple, but all that memorization plays a crucial role later on-- the concepts taught in fourth grade require a firm foundation in multiplication and division. And the skills will be used moving forward from there-- a child can't do algebra if he doesn't have a firm grasp on multiplication, for example. The math your child will learn this year can be divided into four broad categories: number operations, number sense and patterns, geometry and measurement, and probability and statistics.

Curriculum varies from state to state, but you'd be surprised to see how much is constant. Here's what students working at the standard level at the beginning of third grade should be able to do, math-wise:

• Add and subtract two- and three-digit numbers, both with and without regrouping
• Read and write whole numbers
• Tell in which place each of the digits is located
• Count combinations of coins
• Tell time on the clock and calendar
• Measure in many ways
• Read a thermometer
• Recognize and create basic shapes

Students working at the standard level at the end of third grade should be able to:

• Comfortably add and subtract large numbers
• Know the basic multiplication and division facts
• Understand how place value works in our number system
• Round numbers in order to make a reasonable estimate
• Use tools such as rulers and thermometers to measure the area and perimeter of squares and rectangles
• Differentiate solids from shapes
• Find fractions of a whole and factions of a set
• Understand basic probability and statistics
• Understand how bar graphs, line graphs, and tables communicate information in math

Help Your Child Master Math Using Multiple Intelligences

For many people, math class is stressful. But often the problem isn’t the math itself: it’s the way it’s being taught. Anyone can be good at math if they’re lucky enough to find a teacher whose methods align with their personal strengths.
In 1983, Howard Gardner published his theory of “Multiple Intelligences.” He disputed the belief that “intelligence is a single faculty and that one is either ‘smart’ or ‘stupid’ across the board.” Instead, he observed that people rely on a variety of skills that help us resolve problems and difficulties. He grouped these skills into seven different sets and called them “intelligences.” Furthermore, he observed that each person uses a different combination of these skills: “We each have a unique blend of intelligences.”
But schools aren’t set up to accommodate personal differences. They are designed to be uniform. Schools are supposed to be fair, to make sure that everybody has equal access and no one has special advantages. But as Gardner argues, “We obviously look different from one another, and have different personalities and temperaments. Most important, we also have different kinds of minds.” So while the conventional method of lecture and note-taking works for some students, it bypasses the needs of many others. Students conclude that they’re not good at math, when all they really need is a different approach to learning it.
In his book Math for Humans, Mark Wahl offers tips on how to make math accessible to all kids by including all of Gardner’s Intelligences. Here are some strategies on how to tie math to the seven skill sets. Parents can use these ideas at home to help students study. Additionally, they could be suggested as strategies for teachers or tutors.

Musical

This child enjoys making music or rhythm. For her, music evokes emotion and a kind of mental satisfaction independent of rational thinking.

• Use songs, jingles, raps, clapping, or rhythmic music to help recall and recite concepts or tables. For instance, sing the quadratic formula to the tune of “Pop goes the Weasel,” or the 4’s times tables to “Jingle Bells.”
• Play music before and possibly during homework time to get the brain focused. If your child can learn to associate a particular song with studying a concept, remembering that song may help her recall the concept while taking a test.
• Learning an instrument has been shown to improve performance in math. Music teacher Kathy Morey says, “The longer I teach and study music, the more convinced I am that the ancient Greeks knew what they were talking about when they included music as one of the essential subjects in a complete education. And particularly music and math have a very close affinity. Children who learn to read music and to play an instrument or to sing are experiencing involvement of all of their senses, kinesthetic, visual and aural, as they apply, consciously or subconsciously, connections that directly link to their mathematical thought processes.”

Mathematics in Today's Schools

What about the mathematics dispositions of students? There is quite a bit of research on the strong relationship between attitudes and achievement in general. Research on the student’s view of his or her own learning and success (Weiner, 1985) indicates that students who have self-perceptions of low ability or make “I can’t” statements usually debilitate their own success. An early study by Collins (1982) of children with high or low efficacy beliefs related to mathematics ability found that children who had the stronger belief in their efficacy, regardless of ability, solved more problems, chose to rework unsuccessful problems, and eventually solved more problems successfully. Other studies have confirmed the power of belief in one’s abilities. Bouffard-Bouchard (1990) found that regardless of ability level, students with higher efficacy beliefs showed greater strategic flexibility in searching for solutions, achieved higher performances, and were more accurate in self-evaluations. Schunk (1989) studied children with severe deficits in mathematics in a program of self-directed learning. Children’s learning was influenced by cognitive modeling, strategy instruction, performance feedback, and learning goals. Again, children with similar ability differed in performance on the strength of their perceived efficacy.
A student’s perceived self-efficacy is the “belief in one’s capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action required to produce given attainments” (Bandura, 1997, p. 3). Perceived self-efficacy may influence motivation, thought processes, course of action, level of effort, perseverance, and, ultimately, level of accomplishment. High self-efficacy and improved performance result when students set short-range goals, apply specific learning strategies, and receive performance-contingent rewards (Pintrich & De Groot, 1990). Self-assurance from efficacy beliefs may be the key factor that combines with capability to enable students to manage difficult tasks. The opposite disposition, learned helplessness, results when students view their failures as insurmountable and out of their control. Helplessness is accompanied by passivity, loss of motivation, depression, and declining performance.
The most influential sources of efficacy information are experience, vicarious experience, and verbal persuasion (Bandura, 1997). Students who experience success begin building positive beliefs in their abilities. However, easy successes are not helpful; experience with success in challenging tasks that require perseverance and even involve setbacks along the way lead to stronger efficacy beliefs. Vicarious experiences, or viewing models by which to compare one’s capabilities, can positively or negatively influence self-efficacy beliefs. Teachers should be cautious in using comparative models so that students focus on the instructive elements for self-improvement and not simply make an evaluative comparison. Finally, verbal persuasion, more frequently termed performance feedback, can also promote or undermine self-efficacy beliefs, depending on its use. Good persuaders must cultivate students’ beliefs in their capabilities, structure activities for success, and encourage students to engage in self-evaluation, not merely voice positive encouragers.