18/12/2021
I often compare teaching and learning maths successfully to building a wall. If the foundations are strong it's much easier to build on, if there are any "missing bricks" at the lower levels then things quickly become unstable and progress becomes very difficult. Students at this point often feel like they are trying so hard but not making any progress which results in frustration!
Due to lockdown/home learning/isolation more and more students are finding themselves in this situation, they are trying hard to master higher levels of maths when they don't have the solid foundations to build upon, often though no fault of their own. It is far more productive to identify any "missing bricks" in their maths wall and fix them rather than continuing to try and build an unstable wall higher.
Many students who are working towards their Scottish Higher have quite a few "missing bricks" in their algebra skills. They understand the Scottish Higher level maths but they dont have the algebra "bricks" in the lower levels of their maths wall which means they make mistakes and lose marks. Students often dont understand where they are going wrong and quickly become frustrated, disengaged and anxious about their maths.
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