1. Encourage children to play math puzzles and games. Puzzles and games – anything with dice, really – will help kids enjoy math, and develop number sense, which is critically important.

2. Always be encouraging and never tell kids they are wrong when they are working on math problems. Instead, find the logic in their thinking.

3. Never associate math with speed. It is not important to work quickly, and we now know that forcing kids to work quickly on math is the best way to start math anxiety for children, especially girls.

4. Never share with your children the idea that you were bad at math at school or you dislike it – especially if you are a mother. Researchers found that as soon as mothers shared that idea with their daughters, their daughters’ achievement went down.

5. Encourage number sense, having an idea of the size of numbers and being able to separate and combine numbers flexibly.

6. Perhaps most important of all – encourage a “growth mindset” – let students know that they have unlimited math potential and that being good at math is all about working hard… use growth praise such as “It is great that you have learned that;” “I really like your thinking about that;” “You have worked really hard to learn that.”

Source:

Harrington, T. (2016) Stanford professor urges teachers to rethink math instruction. Retrieved from https://edsource.org/2016/stanford-professor-urges-teachers-to-rethink-math-instruction/93376.