More than likely, you or someone you know has said, “Kids just need to know their facts!” While having basic math fact knowledge is important, this learning goes much deeper than just “knowing” their facts. Join this session to explore the importance of shifting our thinking away from whether or not kids “know their facts” and to focusing on what it really means for students to develop and use math fact knowledge.
Students need to have math fact knowledge. But this knowledge goes beyond “just knowing” their isolated facts. Rather than focusing on supporting students to memorize basic facts, teachers must support students in LEARNING their math facts. Learning takes time, and this holds true when students learn basic math facts. When math facts are taught and learned well, students don’t just “know” their facts; instead, they gain a deep understanding of mathematics computation that they are able to apply to any basic or complex computation problem. Math fact learning is about so much more than just the isolated facts.
Join this workshop to unpack what it really means for students to “know” their math facts. We will explore the strategies kids use as they work through stages of math fact development and how those stages support “sticky” learning of math facts. We will also consider how the strategies kids learn when tackling basic facts support them in more complex problems. You will walk away from this session knowing that math fact knowledge is about more than “just” the isolated math fact!
