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Reformers and Traditionalists Agree:
"Children must have automatic recall of math facts"
On December 21, 2004, in an article entitled "Math
Educators Find Common Denominators" the Washington Post
reported that nationally-prominent experts, despite fundamental
disagreements on how children should be taught mathematics, nevertheless
recently agreed: "Elementary school
children must have automatic recall of number facts, meaning that, yes,
they have to memorize multiplication tables."
Washington Post, Valerie
Strauss, staff writer, 12/21/04, page A10.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A15026-2004Dec20.html
What the FlashMaster Does
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Easy to understand
and operate
On their own,
students master
math facts:
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Addition
tables: 0+0=0 through 9+9=18
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Subtraction
tables: 0-0=0 through 18-9=9
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Multiplication tables or
times tables: 0´0=0 through 12´12=144
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Division
tables: 0¸1=0
through 144¸12=12
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type of
activity practiced: "Table: In Order”; “Table:
No Order”; "Practice", "Test", "Flashcards", or "Special Problems" |
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arithmetic
operation (+, -,
´, or ¸)
practiced |
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number of the
"Level" or "Table" from which problems generated |
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length of
per-activity or per-problem time limit |
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number of
problems attempted during activity |
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number and
percentage of problems answered correctly |
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the order in
which the activities were performed, etc.
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Students motivated
by automatic display of results at the end of each activity
and by later "reviewability"
of 9 activities by parent or teacher |
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Extremely efficient use of
students' time: |
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No time wasted
by distracting computer games, by unnecessary keystrokes, or by tedious and
time-consuming "rewards" |
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Usable anywhere
and at any time—the car, the kitchen, etc. |
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Turns on in an
instant; useful even during TV commercials, etc.
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9 "Levels" for each
arithmetic operation: |
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User can focus
on problems that are currently most appropriate |
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Minimal time
wasted on problems that are too easy or too difficult |
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Problems
needing more practice presented more frequently
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Option to practice solely 15
recently-missed problems
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Option to practice
solely 15 problems selected by user
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Time limits and displayed
countdown of time limits motivate students to answer rapidly and instinctively: |
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8 alternative
per-activity time limits: 30,
45, 60, 75, 90, 120, 150 & 180 seconds |
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10 alternative
per-problem time limits:
9, 7, 5, 4, 3, 2.5, 2, 1.6, 1.3, & 1 seconds |
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Option of
"hiding" from view the counting down of time limits |
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Two
introductory "table" activities do not use time limits.
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Ability to
give same test on numerous FlashMasters (same problems, same order)
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Ability to
turn off sound effects
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Immediate visual feedback on accuracy of each answer, but not in
"Test" activity
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Correct answer
displayed when problem missed twice in a row,
but not in "Test" and "Flashcards" activities
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3 possible "problem formats", for example:
1+2=?, ?+2=3, and 1+?=3
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Ability to
decrease or increase how long correct and incorrect answers are
displayed, resulting in speeding up or slowing
down the pace of the FlashMaster
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Ability to change
sounds effects for correct and incorrect answers |
“Math
Facts” =
Multiplication Tables, Division Tables, Addition Tables, and Subtraction Tables
The FlashMaster is the key to
multiplication table
mastery!
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