TORONTO, Aug. 27, 2014 /CNW/ -- Spirit of Math
Schools, an elite after school program helping high performing
students achieve extraordinary results in mathematics, is calling
on educators and parents to include math drills as a key part of
learning in the class and at home this new school year.
Canada's leader in development and
utilization of math drills for the past 25 years, Spirit of Math
Schools has found this teaching tool to benefit students at all
ability levels, with significant improvement in math fact fluency,
confidence, and desire to learn math.
Recent studies have shown that with drills, core math facts
become so engrained in the student's mind, that the brain actually
moves them from short term, to long term memory. In essence,
students build a foundation of math facts they can recall at a
moment's notice, giving them the capacity to then focus their
effort on learning more complex concepts.
"We are encouraged that studies from Ivy-league U.S.
universities are now proving what we've known for more than two
decades—regular exposure to math drills allows students to develop
an automaticity and fluency of math facts which sets them up for
life-long success in mathematics learning," says Kim Langen, CoFounder and CEO of Spirit of Math.
"At Spirit of Math, we believe that students must have an
automaticity of basic number facts to think mathematically. We have
found that carefully designed drills are one of four critical
elements in math education that provide for a well-rounded math
program. The other three are core curriculum, problem solving and
cooperative group work. When you combine all four, then we see
significant improvements in learning with a boosted confidence that
makes math meaningful and fun."
All students from grades 1 to 8 in Spirit of Math Schools'
September-to-June after-school program start their classes with
either 5 or 10 minute drills. Every new drill must show improvement
in student scores in order for it to be integrated as part of the
Spirit of Math drill system. A typical starting class average for a
grade five 10-minute drill is 30/80 for the 3-digit by 1-digit
multiplication drill. The classes are usually close to, or have
exceeded the class average goal of 70/80 by 20 drills. "The effect
on the students is profound; and contrary to what many people
believe, students love doing them!" states Langen.
The Spirit of Math Schools approach is also generating great
results in schools. Educators from both private and public schools
across Canada are successfully
using Spirit of Math Schools materials and methods to advance
student understanding of, and engagement with math. Spirit of
Math Schools offer teachers and parents a host of math resources as
part of its Releasing the Genius® Series, which includes the Drill
System, Drills iPad app, the Math Problem of the Day (mPod®) system
and hybrid online teacher training.
Public education system teachers using Spirit of Math Schools
drills in their classrooms have reported positive learning results
for students at all ability levels. They also report an increased
ability to focus, boosted confidence in their capacity to learn
math, and a desire to keep building on their accomplishments.
Spirit of Math Schools, driven by a mission to be the global
standard of mathematics education and a new paradigm in math
education, is one of Canada's
fastest growing companies. Spirit of Math Schools prides itself on
offering its after-school program students much more than standard
enrichment classes can offer. This includes a comprehensive
curriculum that goes deeper than typical textbook questions, the
advantage of a class environment where students can be with others
who think like them, and the commitment to cover as much content,
if not more, in 1.5 hours as is covered in a whole week of day
school.
To learn about Spirit of Math Schools campuses, books and
resources for educators as well as mathematics teacher training
services, please visit http://www.spiritofmath.com.
About Spirit of Math Schools Inc.
Spirit of Math Schools is Canada's answer to teacher training and math
materials to complement any math curriculum. It also runs
Canada's largest after-school
enrichment program exclusively for high performing students in
grades 1 to 11. It is not a tutoring program, but a program
developed to challenge students with an 80% or higher average.
Students attend a 1½-hour class each week taught by
university-educated, professional teachers throughout the school
year. For more than 25 years, Spirit of Math students and alumni
have been achieving outstanding results. They consistently dominate
the national mathematics honor rolls of Canada and have earned scholarships to the top
Universities including Harvard,
MIT, Oxford and Waterloo. Spirit of
Math has 39 campuses across Canada
and a successful pilot location in New
Jersey, USA. Visit spiritofmath.com.
News Contact:
Monika Rola
Argyle Communications for Spirit of Math Schools Inc.
(416) 968-7311 ext. 240
mrola@argylecommunications.com
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SOURCE Spirit of Math Schools Inc.