If Your Child Doesn’t Develop This, Some High Paying Career Options Will Be Denied

“[I]t has been well demonstrated that children who do not acquire number sense early in their mathematics education struggle throughout their entire subsequent school and college years, and generally find themselves cut off from any career that requires some mathematical ability”. 

                               -- Keith Devlin, Stanford Mathematician

With technology changing, tomorrow’s job market will be dramatically different than today’s.  High tech careers, which demand excellent STEM skills, will grow exponentially and many jobs that don’t require a college education will be exported to lower wage countries – or replaced by new inventions.  Already college graduates enjoy a lower rate of unemployment and higher wage growth than those with a high school diploma according to a recent Georgetown University report. 

So, how do parents make sure their child is primed for success in the STEM-oriented job market they will ultimately face after graduation?

Part of developing a strong background in STEM will involve a good foundation in math.  Studies show that children who fall behind in the early grades tend to stay behind in high school.   A good grounding in math requires excellent number sense.  In fact, current US Common Core standards for math emphasize number sense as a fundamental goal. 

Number sense means:

• A basic understanding of what numbers mean (including fractions, decimals, negative numbers)
• Being able to use different ways to express the same number, for example, 50% or ½ or 0.5
• Estimating skills
• Rounding skills
• Determining the degree of precision needed in a situation
• Choosing measurement units to make sense for a particular task
• Comparing physical measurements between various systems of measurement (such as the English system and the metric system)

People with number sense are those who can use numbers flexibly.  Research with low and high achieving math students between the ages of 7 and 12 has demonstrated that the high achieving students use number sense.  The researchers concluded that low achievers are often struggling not because they have fewer memorized math facts at their disposal, but because they don’t use numbers flexibly.   A 3 minute video demonstrates this flexibility associated with number sense as applied to multiplication.

Without number sense, there is no foundation for advanced math understanding – just as without a knowledge of phonics and word meanings there is no advanced reading.  Mere memorization of math facts and regurgitation under timed test pressure is no substitute for understanding.  Today’s kids will need to build a strong base in number sense for tomorrow’s economy.  

6 Simple Ways to Improve Your Child’s Math / Spatial Skills

Spatial ability is the comprehension and recall of the spatial relations between objects.  Spatial skills and math skills are related to each other (see previous blog entry below).  When you improve your child’s spatial skills, you generally improve their math skills as well.  You don’t have to use high tech or expensive methods to help your kids’ spatial skills.  Here are some easy ways to give your kids an edge:

Board Games 

Board Games give children a great visual in the form of the board itself, and there are many that exercise spatial skills.  In clinical research, a game similar to Chutes & Ladders with consecutively numbered, linearly arranged, equal-size squares was shown to improve kids’ understanding of the number line.  Skippity is an easy visual strategy game that anyone who knows how to “jump” in checkers can learn within 1 minute, and requires kids to visualize each move they are contemplating before acting.   Robot Turtles helps kids understand the basics of programming displayed visually on a board.  Escape Medusa's Rage allows kids to visualize and understand the number line – including negative numbers – in a large, colorful graphic.

Jigsaw Puzzles

Children who play with puzzles develop better spatial skills.  A recent study by the University of Chicago found puzzle play to be an important predictor of spatial skills even after controlling for differences in the parents’ education, and household income.  When doing a jigsaw puzzle, children visualize where and how a particular piece will fit before they try it.  The trial and error aspect reinforces their correct guesses and helps teach them why some of their guesses are wrong.  Children are stimulated to learn by self-correction, and learn that persistence pays off.  Some puzzles even combine logical thinking with art appreciation, for example, puzzles of famous paintings such as Luncheon of the Boating Party by Renoir.

Building Blocks & Construction Toys 

Essential skills and ideas are practiced and built up through block play, including measurement, estimation, comparison, balance, and symmetry.  Blocks and construction toys come in such a wide variety of types – from traditional wood square cubes to plastic bendable toys like Reptangles, Squigz Benders or Joinks to variety boxes like Craft - Struction.  Many Lego sets come with plans that are given in pictures, not words, so that children can create regardless of their reading or language skills.  Kids sharpen their spatial skills by comparing what they’ve built with the diagram and correcting any inconsistencies.

Innovative STEM Toys

More complex than building blocks are new toys that are designed to address the growing interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math).  Kids can learn by doing in the physical world, offline.  Thames and Kosmos

Kids First Aircraft Engineer gives kids the kit and instructions to build 10 simple airplane models including a helicopter. Snap Circuits allows kids to create their own electronic games and gadgets.  Goldiblox sets seek to inspire girls in particular with toys like their create your own Zipline Action Figure (including a doll that rides on the zipline). 

Mazes

Mazes are purely visual and teach kids to look before they leap.  They can choose from strategies like starting at both ends and meeting in the middle.  Printable mazes and toys that allow kids to create their own mazes are great ways for kids to practice spatial skills while having fun.

Coloring

Geometric pattern coloring books help kids create their own patterns using color and careful attention to detail.  Patterns of the Universe demonstrates 17 mathematical themes such as - Prime Numbers, Venn Diagrams, and Fractals.   

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