Memorizing Facts Versus Knowing Facts From Memory
I used to think one of the most important things I did with my fourth graders was to make sure they were fluent with their multiplication and division facts. My definition of fluency was synonymous with fast. To me fast = fluent. To ensure my students all had "fluency" with their multiplication and division facts, we had daily timed tests which some kids loved and others dreaded. We used a boxed program that was on my self when I started teaching. As much as I thought I was doing the right thing, there were a few things that bothered me about this process. There were a few kids who were very proficient mathematicians who just were not doing well with these timed tests. I also had some kids who were doing really well with the timed tests yet they were really struggling to multiply larger numbers. After more and more of these concerns popped up over several years, I started doing some more research into what exactly fluency meant. I ...