Turning Maths homework night from a nightmare to a dream...

Pupils often struggle with Maths when they try to fit too much into their working memory. Our working memory is limited. It is the memory that allows us to remember the code for a door from the time we hear it until we have keyed it in, or remember what we have just heard in a meeting long enough to jot it down. It's a bit like a conveyer belt in a supermarket: we can only store so much in it before information starts dropping out of it. Research shows that we can, on average, only hold seven pieces of information in our working memory at one time. Our long term memory, however, is unlimited. We remember events from when we were tiny children right up until events that happened this morning. We remember lyrics of songs that we learned at school and we never forget how to ride a bicycle. One trick to help with Maths difficulties, is to encode key numerical facts in one's long term memory so that they can be instantly accessed during a Maths problem, without clogging up the working memory. When a pupil has to think about the answer to a times tables question in the middle of a Maths problem, he can easily forget what the problem was all about. That is why learning one's times tables and other key numerical facts (to the point of what we call 'automaticity') is so important for Maths. We free up more of our working memory to solve the problem in hand and we feel much cleverer. Track back through my blog for advice on how to learn key facts under the heading 'Acing Tests'. Come back tomorrow for another tip on how to turn Maths homework night from a nightmare night to a night of calm purpose.