Newswise — Summer brings children an extended and much-anticipated vacation from schoolwork. The positive benefits of this long break are evident in towns and cities everywhere, as children, preteens and adolescents glory in their freedom. For most kids, summertime means attending camp, riding bikes, swimming, or just "hanging out" with friends. In the Digital Age, it also means being able to play games on their computers or PDAs without being told repeatedly to "Stop playing and do your homework!"
That's the good news for students " but not for their math teachers. According to a research report from Harris Cooper, a professor of psychology of University of Missouri - Columbia, over the two months of summer, most students are at risk of losing more than two months of their newly acquired math skills, as momentum gained is lost due to lack of practice. As a result, when school resumes, teachers often must spend the first two months of every school year, or even more, focusing on lesson plans specifically designed to help students regain their math skills. Having to go over the same material instead of moving ahead and building on accumulated knowledge, is lost time. But what if there is a way to help kids retain their math skills during the summer months or even learn more math? And what if this involves something the kids love to do "play interactively on the computer? In an effort to address the summertime math "brain drain," several kinds of companies are offering solutions to worried parents. The solutions range from on-site tutor such as Sylvan Learning Centers and companies that send tutors to people's homes such as the Club Z Tutoring. There are also some computer-based programs. While each offer specific benefits, there are also disadvantages, such as price, travel requirements, and in terms of the Internet programs, a lack of excitement and interactivity.
When Marietta, Oklahoma resident Tom Burkhart, father of 11-year-old Theresa Burkhart, wanted to help his daughter, Theresa he first looked into an on-site tutoring company. He discovered that he that required a 120 miles roundtrip and the cost was also a factor. Searching online, he was delighted to find programs that offered affordable online one-on-one tutoring. Theresa was failing math. Her large classroom lacking individual help, and she was confused by the basic principles behind fractions, decimals, multiplication and the harder division.
To increase her comprehension and skill, Theresa was able to sit down at her computer and get online help from an actual tutor through twenty-minute one-on-one sessions. Programs such as the Tutorialchannel.com offer a real-time tutoring service where students work with online exams, streaming video and audio lectures. The combination of these technologies gave Theresa the power to write, speak, and read her lessons" and bring her failing math grades to Cs and Bs in less than two months. Now, Theresa "loves math" and admits she can't wait to "get online every day and solve more math problems."
Barry Reichman, a former math professor of over 20 years who now heads up MathMadeEasy.com, suggests that parents who want to eliminate the summertime "math brain drain" can do so by creating a healthy balance between playing and learning during the summer months. This means encouraging their children to practice mathematics whether its online or by practicing math through everyday tasks such as adding up items in a grocery basket for example.
"Children's proficiency in math is not only a personal matter, but also a national one. "The ability to stay competitive in fields of science and engineering depend largely on math skills, since they are a fundamental building block of innovation," adds Reichman.
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