It's a common sight in many of the elementary classrooms I visit: kids racing to complete a certain amount of math problems in under a minute. Math minutes are part of many elementary classes to assess students' fluency in basic facts. Some students are able to easily progress every week and do well with the "pressure" of completing 20 or so problems in a minute. As a special education teacher, I know many students are not able to keep up with these probes.
Many of the students I work with dread math minutes. For kids with learning disabilities, math minutes can be nearly impossible. For some kids, knowing that they only have a minute to work stresses them out to the point where they can't process the problems in front of them. For others, they simply can't solve 20 problems in a minute. I used to tutor a 3rd grade student, "J". J was stuck on the "x2" math minute for THE ENTIRE SCHOOL YEAR. That's right. For 38 weeks, J was made to attempt the same math probe. For 38 weeks, she was unsuccessful. It was heartbreaking to see her face drop when she showed me her work from the week. Over the course of the year, J came to hate math, partly because of these math minutes. Without a doubt, she (and most of my students) understands the concepts behind multiplication (or whatever basic operation they're being assessed on). But because of their learning disabilities, it's tough to process 20 problems within a minute successfully. Consider what you're actually assessing and the effects on your students' confidence. Is it actually important that they solve 20 problems within a minute?
I'm sure some of you are thinking, "But I need to assess their fluency!" I agree with you! After all, it's part of the Common Core standards. But nothing says that math fluency = solving 20 facts within one minute! I made a minor tweak to this assessment in my classroom that has made a world of difference. Instead of putting the timer on for a minute, I put a stop watch on the board. When a student is finished with their probe, they bring it up to me so I can write down the time it took the student to complete it. The goal, instead of finishing in a minute, is to beat their previous time. You wouldn't believe the excitement I get from my kids who HATE regular math minutes. It's such a confidence booster for them, because it allows them to complete each probe. It's also less stressful for them to compete with themselves than competing with other students. When they're able to complete the probe, I can actually see what they're getting stuck on or what problems they don't know instead of getting a half blank sheet because they couldn't finish in time. It's a win-win situation!
What do you think about math minutes?
-Georgia
Your tweak sounds like a great idea. When you were explaining how some students feel about the math minute it reminded me of when my daughter could not pass the phonics portion of the computer assessment because she wears hearing aids and cannot understand sounds in isolation in a computer voice. Her teacher knew to just move on since she knew my daughter already knew how to read, but some crazy person who should have known better suggested having the teacher sit next to her while she was on the computer and repeat whatever the computer said, which would have just embarrassed my daughter and been impossible for the teacher to coordinate. Sometimes we have to do things just a little differently for our students because the standard way of doing things just does not work for all.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I think adults forget to think of how the kids feel! I've been in several meetings where other adults make suggestions such as the one you mentioned. It makes *some* sense for the assessment, but people forget to consider how important the assessment actually is compared to how it makes the students feel!
DeleteI love the idea of beating your best score!
ReplyDeleteYes! The kids I work with enjoy it so much more than having to complete it in a minute. It's so empowering for them :)
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