gemmawhizz

I absolutely agree that maths can (and should!) be combined with entertainment. Children do not have to realise that they are actually learning – they can enjoy ‘playing’ instead, while benefitting from it as they progress! The parental dashboard is also a great feature of programmes such as these, since parental engagement is absolutely crucial to any child’s progression throughout education. Both parental involvement, as well as at least some level of maintained involvement in the child’s own education over the long summer holidays are extremely important, and do not have to be expensive.

With 3000 teenagers failing to pick up the basic maths skills, of course it is our collective duty to fill in the gaps and find out how we can do this in the most effective way. However, I do not feel that Carol Vorderman’s chosen resource is the most effective way to raise a child’s standards in maths. Although many parents feel that their children should be able to choose which exercises they want to focus upon, I believe that this is not in the best interests of the child. It is fantastic that parents can keep an eye on what their children are doing, but not that they allow their children to determine what it is that they are doing. Of course, given the choice, they will choose to work on what they feel most comfortable with, rather than what would make them work harder and step into unfamiliar territory! They should be working on improving their weakest points (while continuing to keep up with their stronger points), rather than sticking with what they are familiar and comfortable with. As parents, teachers etc, it is our duty to make sure that children have well-rounded educations; with not only fun learning experiences, but also constructive ones.

Does anyone agree that children should not be given too much choice about what they will work on? What if we could make use of a resource that calculates what children actually need to work on in order to improve, and then tasks them with this before moving them on to the next topic that they need to work on? Wouldn’t this be far more effective?

Please let me know what you think.

Gemma, Whizz Education (www.whizz.com)

Hello Everyone,

We couldn’t agree more with Mr Gove. We think at this point in time, reaching students in way that they are familiar with and feel comfortable with, is critically important. Online gaming is something which is here to stay, not fade into the background. That means that educators have to accept this and use this to their advantage, and in a way which benefits students. An online forum, and in particular gaming, is something students understand, look at it in a positive way, and are very happy to do.
@Xemplar - is this the point you were leaning towards?

What we need to be careful of, is making sure that when we do give work to students in ‘shoot the aliens’ type of way, we are 100% engaged in exactly what they are doing, how they fared, where they got stuck, and what level they are at. It does not help any student if they are able to choose the level at which they learn. If I was an 8 year old, I would choose questions that I was comfortable with and found easy , so in essence I would get better at what I was already good at! No, what needs to happen is an assessment, and then the learning engine, or ‘game’ to choose this level for the student based on their ability. Getting students to learn and work without realising that this is what they are doing, is by far the most effective way to ensure progress. Times have changed, and we need to change with them. There is no point being afraid of the fun, or the technology. What we need to do just embrace it, and make sure we use it to better our teaching methods and the students for whom we are responsible.
Does anyone else share our view?

Stephanie and Gemma, Maths- Whizz (www.whizz.com)