A parent was worried that her daughter wasn’t understanding math. She was constantly forgetting what she was learning. It seemed like she was getting everything she needed: a good curriculum, and extra help. But every time she was working on her own, it seemed like she would have to go back even further in math to catch up.
But during her sessions with her tutor she was understanding the material – so why didn’t it show after the lessons? Did she really understand what she was doing?
Her mom realized that it could be because she was forgetting the math. She couldn’t remember what she was learning.
Seeing her earnest plea for help, I wanted to share a few things I suggested for her.
Maybe it will help you too.
What’s going on?
One of the issues that students may have is the belief that once something is taught, it will stick. In my experience that is not usually the case.
There are so many things going on in life, so many pieces of information that are vying for our attention, that new things learned may not be retained.
Instead, it’s important to review the material – days, weeks, and even months in the future.
That’s why homework, quizzes, and tests are so helpful for retention. They are typically timed in a way that helps students to remember the material – that is if they study before the homework, quizzes, and tests.
What should I do?
Here’s a basic plan that will help students to remember more.
- Review what was taught about 1 hour after the lesson.
- Make sure the material was understood and could be explained back.
- Make sure that the problems are covered again the next day.
- Cover the problems again a week later, and a month later.
If a problem isn’t clear then the student should take some time to figure out what is unclear and get some help. They should work on being able to explain what they understood and didn’t understand. Then once they get some help, they should be able to explain it clearly.
If they can’t explain what is troubling them or causing them problems, it’s something that they need extra help with. There are a wealth of resources online (including our own Youtube and worksheets for extra help.)
Once they understand the material, they don’t just do it and forget it. Write it down and make sure to review it frequently.
That’s one way you can help students remember what they have learned and stop them from getting frustrated and feeling like they always need to catch up.
