EEF blog: Practice makes perfect – doesn’t It?

“Practice makes perfect!”

This commonplace idiom means that if you practise something enough, you will eventually be able to do it perfectly. 

As a teacher, it is a saying that I have used in the past to encourage children to learn key mathematical skills like counting forwards and backwards in 1s from any starting number, learning number bonds to 10, or recalling rapidly multiplication facts.

Quick and efficient recall of facts and procedures is an important part of becoming a fluent mathematician.

But we need to remember, it is only a part.

Building fluency

The national curriculum for mathematics aims to ensure that all pupils become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics.

So, what are the other key components to build fluency?

Children need to recall knowledge rapidly and accurately and they need to be able to apply this knowledge in different contexts. To do this, children need to develop their conceptual understanding using manipulativesobjects that educators and children can move and interact with to represent mathematical ideas (including fingers, everyday objects, such as buttons or pine cones, and mathematical resources such as Numicon, Cuisenaire rods). and representations. They need varied and frequent practice.

Repeated practice

We know that simply giving time to practise a mathematical skill isn’t enough to build fluency in our young learners.

But memorisation of some key mathematical facts is a factor in building fluency.

To learn something, we do require the information to be committed to long-term memory. Through attention and repeated rehearsal, the information moves from the working memory to the long-term memory.

Having known facts frees up working memory to focus on higher order mathematical thinking.

Memorisation of key facts can also support children to build confidence in their own mathematical ability.

Recommendation 2 of EEF’s ​‘Improving Mathematics in the Early Years and Key Stage 1’ guidance report states that games can be an engaging way to practise and extend skills. They can generate repeated practice in a motivating context.

Let’s take Hidden Numbers from ​‘Making Numbers: Using Manipulatives to Teach Arithmetic’ as an example of a meaningful and motivating context to generate repeated practice.

This game can be played with 10 objects, hiding different numbers in a pot, under a cloth or behind a screen, and asking children how many are hidden (© Oxford University Press).

Children may use manipulativesobjects that educators and children can move and interact with to represent mathematical ideas (including fingers, everyday objects, such as buttons or pine cones, and mathematical resources such as Numicon, Cuisenaire rods). like a tens frame or their fingers to help work out the answer. Through the act of repeatedly playing, children build fluency of number facts for 10.

Children can play in pairs and take it in turns to hide an amount for their partner. They can check whether their partner is correct, giving a reason for their thoughts.

The game can easily be adapted by playing with different numbers and types of objects to alter the context.

Children can use a sentence frame to support memorisation of number facts. For example:

___ and ___ make 10.

10 is made of ___ and ___.

Purposeful, playful practice in a meaningful and motivating context can support children’s understanding of a concept. Playing practical games provide repeated experiences helping children to make connections.

So, does practice make perfect?

Well, I would suggest that, ​‘Repeated purposeful practice in a range of meaningful and motivating contexts to build efficiency and flexibility can help to make perfect’… but it’s not quite as catchy!