Trending Math Support Strategies

While top educators stay up to date on trends in education, the best teachers focus on their adaptability as they implement new strategies to support their students. Simply put, students who receive valuable support are more likely to thrive at school. Whether it’s in the form of invention education, esteem-boosting encouragement or a personalized approach to learning, teachers are enhancing their support in all subjects, especially mathematics.

Do your students express dismay for math? National achievement gaps in math can be attributed to many causes, from math anxiety to a lack of resources during the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the average long-term trend assessments in mathematics scores dropped seven points between 2020 and 2022.

As many recent state laws trend toward early math intervention, educators are taking a proactive approach to providing math support in the classroom. Read more to learn how teachers are taking student-centered approaches and using high-quality instructional materials to support their math students.

Reframe Math as a Practical Tool

Reframing math as a practical tool is a student-centered approach that invites learners to solve real-world problems using math, rather than just solving “math problems.” When educators demonstrate tangible applications for mathematics, from cooking to finance and more, students see the value of what they are learning.

By leveraging class enthusiasm for playing an interactive, hands-on game of grocery store, for instance, you can convey the importance of math competency in the real world. Reframing strategies may also include solving a math story mystery or using math to rank sports teams. It all comes down to helping students shift their perspective and view math as a tool to solve problems and identify patterns.

Introduce Math Journals for Student Reflection

If “aha moments” are one of your favorite parts of the job, you might try creating opportunities for student reflection that can enhance math support. Math journals allow students to process and reflect on what they’ve been learning. It’s an effective metacognition activity that generates self-awareness and autonomy as students monitor their progress.

When students journal about how they arrived at an answer, they strengthen critical thinking skills and are likelier to identify where math becomes tricky. As you review their entries, you’ll be able to provide targeted intervention to improve their comprehension. By the end of the year, students can look back at their earliest math journal entries and identify their growth! Camp Invention^® programs also embrace personalized student reflection activities that reinforce core concepts they discover during hands-on STEM experiences. These strategies empower students to cultivate an innovative mindset.

Incorporate Fun and Emphasize Step-by-Step Processes

One way to ease the tension around math is to implement kid-friendly math activities that improve access to theoretical concepts. Emphasizing step-by-step processes in these activities can help students connect the dots at their own pace and digest broader concepts with confidence.

By creating multiple pathways to math that spark joy along the way, teachers can count on fun engagement strategies to unlock student motivation. You even can consider incorporating theater games to help support math skills and self-esteem. When students connect daily experiences with math, that is the measure of your impact!

Follow More Trends in STEM

Creating authentic math support in the classroom helps students stay persistent as math becomes more complex. Explore our blog to learn how our invention education programs help support the mathematics of STEM learning.