How A Digital Math Course Can Fill In Gaps in Math Understanding

Whether you're a teacher or a parent, you've likely encountered a child who is struggling in math. Now more than ever, students need support to fill in gaps in understanding, especially post-pandemic. Picture the current group of third graders, they missed the end of their Kindergarten year, and their first grade year was a mix of virtual, in-person and hybrid learning. So it makes sense that they would have gaps in some of the core foundational math concepts that they should have learned during those years. The same goes for the current class of fourth, fifth and sixth graders as well. These gaps are challenging to fill, especially when trying to build on a foundation of understanding to learn new concepts. Math follows a progression, building on core concepts from previous years to develop new understandings and more efficient problem solving strategies as children progress. However, with gaps in these core areas, this can be a challenge. It's like trying to build on top of Jenga tower that is missing some of the stable pieces on the bottom. The foundation is shaky, and at any moment, the tower could come crashing down.

This has impacts not only on student understanding but on their overall mindset towards mathematics as well. Having a growth mindset in math is one of the key indicators to success in math. If students believe that they can grow their understanding in math, they are going to be significantly more successful in learning math because they are open to learning new strategies, and viewing mistakes as opportunities for growth. But with gaps in understanding, and constant mistakes, this leads to students feeling like failures, feeling like they can't do it, or they just don't have the 'math gene.' We are seeing this more and more in our young mathematicians post-pandemic. They are giving up more easily, they are shutting down, which doesn't leave much room for building deep mathematical understanding. It is a big problem.

So as parents and teachers, what can we do to help solve the problem?

• The child could get a private tutor (one-on-one or small group) to fill in specific gaps in understanding, and target key strategies based on data

• The child might qualify for math intervention during the school year which provides additional support

• The child could attend summer school

All of the options listed above are great options for supporting children in filling in those gaps in understanding. However, many of them require a specific time that children need to be available, whether it is an hour here and there for tutoring, or a longer block of time for summer school. And there are many other factors that can be challenging, such as cost of tutoring, or summer school scheduling conflicting with summer camps and other sports, clubs, music classes and activities.

So I created an alternate option that is definitely worth checking out! A virtual math boot camp that is flexible and can be done on the child/family's schedule.

So far, I only have a Third Grade Math Review course, but my hope is to expand this to other grades as well. This course is for third grade students who need support with building understanding of whole-number operations. It targets the specific strategies and skills that children need to understand and become efficient problem solvers in addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

With instructional videos, easy-to-use math resources, engaging math projects, games and more, this course is your go-to resource for getting your third grader back on track. This course is designed with third graders in mind and is perfect for a mid-year boost, for getting a third grader back on track before state testing, for the summer after third grade to prevent the summer slide. It can also be used for fourth graders who need additional support with whole-number operations or for advanced second graders who want to prepare for third grade before the year begins. Using research-based instructional methods, and strategies that support conceptual understanding, this Third Grade Math Boot Camp is a critical piece of the puzzle to supporting your third grader with math!

Why is an online course the best option?

This course is affordable, and flexible. For only $49.99, students have access to 6 weeks of content, including over 20 instructional lessons that are engaging and use visual models for support. It also includes hands-on strategies and follows a progression from building conceptual understanding, to supporting procedural fluency for addition, subtraction, multiplication and division at the third grade level. Students can complete the course on their own time schedule, based on what works best for their family. They can watch a brief instructional video one day, and complete an activity the next day. They can travel with this course and do it virtually while on vacation, while travelling for sports and more. It truly is the best option for preventing the summer slide and filling in gaps in understanding.

Want to learn more?

Check out my course page, or grab a free information guide download by visiting https://www.mathcoachconnection.com/third-grade-math-course.

You can also head over directly to the course page at https://math-coach-connection.coursify.me/courses/third-grade-math-skills-review