Utilizing Math Flashcards For Failing Students

By Jerry Hughes


Learning math is difficult for many students. It can be intimidating before they get far in the process. There are many ways to engage students in learning, including manipulatives, games, and computer applications. Math flashcards for failing students are a time-tested way of getting learners engaged and utilizing repetition to learn arithmetic facts.

Frequent breaks should be a part of the learning process. Studying for a long period of time is not effective. The brain stops retaining information after a while. Study time should be broken up with different activities, usually those that are academic in nature.

There are different ways that people learn. Discovering the learning style of a particular person helps teachers plan activities accordingly. Learning activities should vary activities based upon these learning styles. Everyone is either an auditory, visual, or hands-on learner. Often people are a mix of more than one, but one is dominant. Students who are exposed to activities that relate to their learning style retain information better.

Recent studies show that learning basic math facts provides a solid foundation that leads to future success. Children in high school who are failing algebra courses may suffer from a lack of knowledge about basic facts. Adults also can benefit from flashcards. People who do not learn these basic facts often struggling throughout school and during their careers.

These cards allow for repetition of facts. The teacher can even choose certain problems for the student to work on. Flashcards can be found for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Of course, it is easy to make flashcards that focus on a certain area. There are online templates that allow the teacher or student to print out their own flashcards.

There are several effective ways of using flash cards. One proven way is to choose fifteen cards, including twelve that the child already knows. The teacher shows the cards to the student in rapid fashion. Cards that the viewer misses are placed near the front and the process is repeated. Cards that are answered correctly go to the back of the stack. Missed cards are repeated and placed back near the top until they have been answered properly three times.

Children that suffer from behavioral problems can receive benefits from repetition of facts. At times, the brain may not store these facts in its long-term memory, so repetition keeps the answers in the forefront of the mind. Other methods of learning math facts include chants, games, songs, and computer applications.

Flashcards may be simple but they are an effective way of learning. They are also cheap and easy to create. Anyone can print out flash cards at home and use them for months. Children can help each other learn, too. The teacher may choose to break the class up into learning groups. All members of the group might have similar learning issues and can assist each other. The process of repetition is time-tested and produces results in learners at all levels of skill.




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