Myth:
Timed practice causes anxiety
There are lots of myths out there about learning that have impacted education. The notion that timing practice of academic skills leads to anxiety and should be avoided by educators is one such myth.
A few decades ago, “Mad Minutes” came into fashion. Teachers were encouraged to run one-minute timings on math facts with their students each day. Unfortunately, teachers were not trained in the other essential elements of effective practice. The result? Most students didn’t improve their performance across practice timings, and many began to experience dread and fear about this part of their school day.
That’s the problem with educational fads that aren’t based on science.
Timing practice doesn’t magically produce performance improvements. Poorly designed practice is just as bad as not practicing at all! For practice to improve performance, it must be precisely designed according to the science of learning.
Elements of effective practice
- Individualized curriculum to a learner’s instructional level
- Sufficient opportunities to respond during a timing such that fluency can be achieved
- Individualized goal setting based on previous performance
- Ongoing measurement of correct and incorrect responses during every practice timing
- Established fluency aims for each skill practiced that indicate when mastery has been achieved
Timing practice isn’t a fad….it’s science.
At Fit Learning Online, we time practice because count per minute is our fundamental measure of a skill. Change in count per minute over time is our fundamental measure of learning. Ongoing measurement of learning allows us to make data-informed instructional decisions to ensure rapid progress.
Effective practice is fun, fast-paced, rewarding, and transformative. Let go of the myths and let’s get your child engaging in effective practice of academic skills!