Math anxiety can be thought of as a learned fear of numbers or anything to do with math. It results in feelings of tension and fear at the sight of numbers or math symbols, causing poor performance in math, especially on tests. Sadly, in the U.S., ... Read More
Dr. Cotter on Learning Disabilities
Approximately one in ten children has a learning disability. For most of these children, traditional methods of teaching math are a source of frustration and failure. Memorizing counting words, then facts, algorithms, and vocabulary is way too much ... Read More
Dr. Cotter on Problem Solving
A few years ago while on a shuttle to speak at a math convention, I started talking to a young man next to me. When he found out I was involved in math, he said he could solve story problems as long as someone told him what operation to use. The ... Read More
Dr. Cotter on Multivides
Did you check out our blog on division? And did you read about short division? Isn't that just wonderful? Now, let's talk about some practice for short division. When I was a child, my mother created puzzles for my siblings and me. They were ... Read More
Dr. Cotter on Division
Long division used to be considered the ultimate goal of arithmetic. An earlier division algorithm was so complicated it wasn’t taught until college. Today some students learn a mnemonic in order to remember what to do when in the long division ... Read More
Dr. Cotter on Addition and Subtraction Facts
Addition Addition can be thought of as finding the whole when the parts are known. Place value greatly simplifies finding the sum of two numbers. To be efficient in adding, we start with the sums of numbers 1 + 1 through 9 + 9. These are best ... Read More