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Mathematical Thinking

April 20, 2022
Reading Time: 4 minutes

Mathematical thinking is regarded as an important goal of education around the world. Mathematical thinking focuses on the process rather than the content. This discipline of reasoning helps kids develop the ability to think, plan, and strategize, which have been identified as key aspects of organizational success, decision making, and life choices.

To remove the fear and lack of confidence in children to tackle math problems or study math, it is important for the parents and the teachers to constantly point out to their children or students; how fortunate they are to have the opportunity to learn mathematics today—when mathematical thinking and math knowledge can open the door to so many interesting and exciting possibilities.

The right platform or pedagogy based on mathematical thinking helps a child learn math by offering insights into how to approach math. The system must develop confidence in a child by making the child understand some concepts which cannot be just called math learning skills rather they can be called life skills. Here is the list:

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1. There are different ways to solve a problem.

The mathematical thinking process is more than just finding the right answer; it is also a process of problem-solving and applying what you’ve learned to a new problem.

How is it a life skill? Whenever a child faces a problem in any stage of life or academics, the child will first start exploring all possible options it has to arrive at the solution.

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2. Wrong answers are useful.

Analyzing wrong answers can help a child to understand the concepts underlying the problem and to learn to apply reasoning skills to arrive at the correct answer.

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How is it a life skill? The child will start seeing mistakes and failures on a positive note in life. This will enhance the persevering attitude of the child and develops the never say die attitude towards events.

3. You can take on challenges and risks!

This will help a child see the value of trying to solve a problem, in spite of its difficulty. A child becomes an independent thinker and problem solver.

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How is it a life skill? Life is filled with challenges. Children who take on challenges instead of avoiding or simply coping with them achieve better in school and in life.

4. Ability to do math mentally is important.

Mathematics is not limited to pencil and paper calculations. Mental math is a valuable skill that comes useful as we make quick calculations of prices in stores, restaurants, or gas stations. Let your child know that by using mental math, her math skills at every stage of life will become stronger.

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How is it a life skill? As mentioned above this will help a child to perform calculations of daily life activities, make better investments with the money earned, gaze value goods and services.

5. It is just fine to use a calculator sometimes.

It’s OK to use calculators to solve math problems—sometimes. They are widely used today, and knowing how to use them correctly is equally important in this digital world.

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How is it a life skill? A child will understand that seeking help is not a shame and that you can always let an adult, mentor, or peer guide, validate, or help with things that he/she finds difficult to solve and verify.

All these steps prove that mathematical thinking is not just an academic skill rather a LIFE SKILL! Hence, we can substantiate the statement that “Those who are good in MATH are good in LIFE.”
And as John Von Neumann says “If people do not believe that mathematics is simple, it is only because they do not realize how complicated life is.”

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