May07
Learning From Mistakes In the past, teaching methodologies did not consider the possibility that the student would have to go through a period of making mistakes in order to learn something. This is because it was believed that making a mistake was equivalent to learning. Since the middle of the last century, things have changed. […]
Continue reading »Apr02
Reinforcement and feedback plays an important role in the learning process as it has direct and indirect consequences on students’ behavior. Generally, positive reinforcement if used effectively, has a constructive impact on students’ behavior, commitment, and self-perception. Negative feedback, on the other hand, tends to have opposite effects (Matheson and Shriver, 2005). The Importance of […]
Continue reading »Mar05
It has been shown that the level of mathematical competence, assessed in the early years of school, predicts our academic and career success (Bynner 2006). That is, kids with good math skills will have more opportunities academically, and later, in their careers. And, as surprising as it is, this relationship between math skills and future […]
Continue reading »Feb13
Cognitive Training Games in SmartickBrain If you are part of the Smartick family I’m sure that you are familiar with SmartickBrain, the cognitive training platform designed to improve memory, reasoning, attention, and flexibility. Children can access it after their daily 15-minute session and parents can access it at any time from the Parent Page. SmartickBrain […]
Continue reading »Jan23
Number Sense When speaking about mathematics most people think it is the ability to count, add and subtract numbers, or the ability to solve complex math equations. But, what comes before counting and the ability to recognize numbers? Number sense! In other words, the primitive ability to recognize and represent amounts without using numerical symbols […]
Continue reading »Dec26
Dyscalculia, the Great Unknown In an earlier post, we spoke about a very current but not very well known topic: dyscalculia. Dyscalculia can present itself in a very diversified way but, generally, children that suffer from this specific learning disorder have difficulties with the basic aspects of numerical processing and calculation. These difficulties, if not […]
Continue reading »Nov28
Math anxiety is defined as the feeling of tension, apprehension, or fear that interferes with performance in mathematics (McLeod, 1994). And it is not something exclusive to students that are not good at math, anyone can suffer from it. According to the World Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), 30% of adolescents experience an […]
Continue reading »Nov06
When it comes to studying and learning, one of the most important ingredients is attention. It is the cognitive process that allows us to concentrate on and respond to the relevant stimuli as a consequence. Some children, in particular those with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), have difficulty maintaining their focus. This makes the learning process challenging […]
Continue reading »Oct17
In a recent post on our blog, we spoke about the importance of working memory in learning mathematics. Memory skills, and exercising memory skills, are critical to any mathematical task such as memorizing multiplication tables or remembering the order of operations and geometric formulas. There are different types of memory, but Smartick Brain games primarily […]
Continue reading »Sep25
Reasoning and Mathematics Reasoning is a fundamental component of intelligence. It is the capacity to adapt and confront new situations in a flexible way. In the field of mathematics and science, it has been seen that it plays an important role, in particular visuospatial. (Nath & Szücs, 2014; Wai, Lubinski, & Benbow, 2009). In other […]
Continue reading »Aug16
Today we will talk about SmartickBrain, Smartick’s cognitive training platform that students can access after completing their daily session. It is full of games specifically designed to improve four different cognitive areas: memory, reasoning, attention, and flexibility. SmartickBrain stimulates, trains and improves these skills through online games. Cognitive areas Memory is the cognitive capacity to […]
Continue reading »Jun20
Around twenty million people in the United States suffer from dyscalculia, a disorder that makes it difficult to learn mathematics. In today’s post we are going to talk about its causes, symptoms and treatment. What is dyscalculia Dyscalculia is a specific learning disability with neurobiological origins that affects the acquisition of mathematical knowledge despite an IQ within […]
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