Change of heart!
I have to admit, I used to get annoyed when students would
arrive in my grade 8 class and still count on their fingers. I have never disallowed my students to use
their fingers but it annoyed me for some reason. I am totally pro-manipulatives
in the classroom and I encourage my students to use them but the fingers got
under my skin and I’m not entirely sure why.
I have many a discussion about
why we no longer practice the multiplication tables in the junior grade. (I
know some still do) After reading this
article by Jo Boaler
http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/04/why-kids-should-use-their-fingers-in-math-class/478053/
I have definitely had a change of heart! In the article, it states that “research
shows that we actually see a representation of our fingers in our brains, even
when we don’t use fingers in our calculations” WOW that was amazing to me! Brian Butterworths findings that students
aren’t learning numbers through thinking about their fingers, those “numbers
will never have a normal representation in the brain” shocked me! Oh the guilt!
I knew that visual math was important but finger representation? Who
knew? I actually explained a math problem to one of my students today using
both of our hands and all of our fingers, and she got it immediately! Time to let our fingers do the talking! J
Very interesting post. I can understand moving children along in mathematics by preparing them with the tools that they are going to need in the future, but some things should not be rushed. "As children learn basic arithmetic, they gradually switch from solving problems by counting on their fingers to pulling facts from memory. The shift comes more easily for some kids than for others, but no one knows why", as stated in a Stanford Medicine Study (https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2014/08/new-research-sheds-light-on-how-childrens-brains-memorize-facts.html). What's also interesting in the study is how different areas of the brain are involved in creating new memories. The more active the hippocampus was in the learning process, "the greater was each individual child’s ability to retrieve math facts from memory, a finding that suggests a starting point for future studies of math-learning disabilities." “The hippocampus is providing a scaffold for learning and consolidating facts into long-term memory in children.” Because of this, why would anyone discourage finger-counting. It's a necessary habit that helps develop long term problem-solving skills. Who knew :)
ReplyDeleteI understand why finger counting would get under ones skin. I tutor two math students one who can do simple math, and the other who still needs his fingers. It takes the second student a lot longer to answer questions because he doesn't know the basics yet. However, I do appreciate him using his fingers for two reasons
ReplyDelete1. When he uses his fingers I know he is working at the problem. Otherwise he just sits there staring at the wall and I'm unsure if he's thinking, lost, or spaced out. While he counts on his fingers I know not to jump in.
2. If he doesn't use his fingers, sometimes he just guesses, and will give multiple guesses. This frustrates me, because he knows how to get the answer, he is just being lazy. Sometimes he is close, but most of the time he just ends up throwing out random numbers, before he finally moves to finger counting.
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ReplyDeleteI can totally see how watching a student use his/her fingers to count would be annoying, but at least they are trying it on their own. I recently posted a blog about students relying too much on technology in the classroom and I feel like there is a connection here. When student uses their fingers to count they get a physical representation of the numbers, which is good for visual learners in processing information. Also, when they use their fingers to add and subtract it is showing that they are at least trying to solve the problem. Kids today rely too much on the calculator. I would much rather a student struggle through a problem using their fingers then input it into their calculator, get the right answer, and get absolutely nothing out of it. As Boaler says in the article “ Teachers should celebrate and encourage finger use among younger learners and enable learners of any age to strengthen this brain capacity through finger counting and use.”
ReplyDeleteAnother related article states that “Children typically learn basic numerical and arithmetic principles using finger-based representations. However, whether or not reliance on finger-based representations is beneficial or detrimental is the subject of an ongoing debate between researchers in neurocognition and mathematics education. From the neurocognitive perspective, finger counting provides multisensory input, which conveys both cardinal and ordinal aspects of numbers. Recent data indicate that children with good finger-based numerical representations show better arithmetic skills and that training finger gnosis, or “finger sense,” enhances mathematical skills. Therefore neurocognitive researchers conclude that elaborate finger-based numerical representations are beneficial for later numerical development.( http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3225925/)
Overall, I agree that students should be encouraged to use their fingers in math class as it is both beneficial at the time and down the road in the development of their fundamental math skills.
Hello, I teach high school math from grade 9 locally developed to grade 11 workplace. When we calculate the amount of hours worked in a day, I model how to count this using fingers. For many students, if asked how many hours are worked from 9:00am to 2:00pm, they have a difficult time getting the correct answer. It is usually off by one. Once I model that for them, I can see them working through their activities using their fingers at their desks. I am okay with that. I play Scrabble with my students as a literacy/numeracy activity. When I count my points I use my fingers purposely when I am adding up the score. Part of the game is that you have to add up your own score. When adding double letter, then double word the students have trouble. I see them using their fingers to count when we are playing Scrabble and I love it!
ReplyDeleteJust as Tyler Shaw commented, I think that the students rely way too heavily on technology. It is great to actually “see” the students thinking when they count with their fingers. It is very interesting that research shows that finger-based numerical representations are beneficial for later numerical development.