Jan06
In an earlier post, we learned how to calculate the perimeter of any polygon and formulas for regular polygons and rectangles. Today, we are going to learn how to calculate the perimeter of other types of polygons: rhombuses, isosceles triangles, isosceles trapezoids, and stepped polygons. NOTE TO OUR READERS IN THE U.K. – This post […]
Continue reading »Jan02
Home education, homeschooling, and education otherwise are terms that refer to education at home. A form of school that develops at home within a family. This is an educational option that is practiced in many countries, mainly those in Europe, the Americas or Australia where it is more accepted and legislated. However, there are countries […]
Continue reading »Dec30
In this post, we are going to continue analyzing the book, How I Wish I’d Taught Maths by Craig Barton, which is about evidence-based education. Today we will talk about the chapter that focuses on self-explanation which is the self-reflection that takes place when you are reading or learning something. Effects of Self-Explanation Self-explanation consists of […]
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 »Dec23
When thinking about math in the early years, math for little ones, we contemplate counting, first numbers, and acquiring numerical sequence. And indeed, it is at this stage where we begin to develop the ability to count. But these are not the only math topics that children can learn in the early years. There is […]
Continue reading »Dec19
When children come home with their grades from the first trimester it’s like an imaginary referee has signaled the first water break during a game. It is time to check the score, take a breather, and assess if a comeback is possible. It may feel like it is the halfway mark but that’s false. It’s […]
Continue reading »Dec16
”What is the difference between interleaving and blocked practice?” We will be writing various entries explaining the difference between these two types of practice and how we use them in Smartick. Blocked Practice In math textbooks and classrooms, it is common for students to study a topic and then, immediately after, apply what they have […]
Continue reading »Dec12
If we go to any elementary school and ask the teachers if the 7 and 8-year-old children can read, they will most likely say yes. If we were to do a reading test we would definitely see children who read well and pronounce words correctly. However, we would also find children who read slowly, struggle […]
Continue reading »Dec09
At Smartick we are committed to incorporating manipulative materials into our learning method. Although virtual environments have some natural limitations when it comes to ”manipulating” the materials themselves, we have been able to adapt them to our method to maximize learning for the underlying concepts. You can find more information about the topic in this […]
Continue reading »Dec06
Within Neurodidactics, an important discipline to lay the proper groundwork for new forms of education, there are five basic ideas. Neurodidactics Basics Learning is fun. Learning is spontaneous, without guided instruction. It is most effective when the sensitive phases are respected. Children learn the skills needed for learning more easily when they are younger. Digital […]
Continue reading »Dec04
What is Smartick Coding? In each Smartick Coding session, children work on computational thinking that, we will discuss in this and future posts, is very closely related to mathematical, logical, and abstract thinking. Smartick Coding is an ambitious project that works from the most basic control flow structures until Boolean algebra or the basics of […]
Continue reading »Dec02
In today’s post, we are going to learn how to calculate the absolute value of a number with help from some of the exercises that we have in Smartick. The absolute value of a whole number coincides with its numerical value without having to think about the sign. It is represented with vertical bars around […]
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