Ex-teacher reveals three ways to combat decline in maths skills
A former teacher and leading education expert from Save My Exams has revealed how parents can help consolidate learning over the summer holidays, after a study revealed that children can lose up to 40% of school-based learning during the upcoming break.
A learning loss over the summer can take place across all subjects, but previous research in the United States has found that Maths is one of the most negatively affected.
In light of this, Lucy Kirkham, ex-teacher and Head of Content Creation, has revealed three simple and practical ways parents can help children keep their maths skills sharp over the summer holidays.
Lucy Kirkham, comments:
Prioritise real-life maths revision
“Over the summer, children often don’t engage with maths as regularly, leaving subjects like algebra and trigonometry untouched unless they make a conscious effort to practice. And without regular revision, maths skills can decline significantly. In the United States, this can be as much as a third.
One of the first steps in helping prevent any negative consequences from a lack of practice over the summer, can be to simply take your child along with you to your weekly shop.
When doing so, look out for any special discounts, such as 75% off, and encourage them to work out the new price. Another option could be to get your child to estimate a running total of your shopping and check it against the weekly shopping budget.
Both of these tasks will help them utilise their maths skills in real-life scenarios, improve their mental maths, keep their mind active, and concentration levels high.”
Maths activities
“By heading out of the house and visiting places that encourage learning, such as science museums, or encouraging your child to do puzzles such as Sudokus and other maths-based games, you can help your child to continue learning and develop their maths outside the classroom.
Science museums typically offer hands-on learning experiences and interactive exhibitions designed to keep children engaged on topics such as physics, engineering, and technology. These can help develop a child’s maths skills by improving their understanding of measurements, ratios and problem-solving.
This, in turn, helps stimulate their brains and maintain their interest. They reinforce the academic concepts learnt at school in a fun and memorable way, and help contextualise how maths is used in real-life scientific scenarios. They also expose them to new ideas and experiences, encouraging them to think critically.
“Sudokus and other maths-based games are also a great way to incorporate maths into your child’s summer break. Starting with a simple four-by-four grid, they are an excellent way to make problem-solving fun.”
Try out online maths revision
“Another way to practice more complex maths skills throughout the summer is through online revision. Spending as little as 10 to 20 minutes per day on focused maths revision can help keep skills fresh in their mind, particularly for children going into Year 10 or Year 11.
Online revision is great for helping break down difficult concepts, whilst focusing on specific subject areas and topics. Equally important, it can come in the form of online maths games, videos, quizzes, or a culmination of the three, making it a more fun and digestible method of revision.”