Tips for Boosting Your Child’s Math Success

For many students, math is one of the most challenging school subjects to conquer. However, it doesn't have to be. There are many ways parents can take an active role in their children's math success.

"Often students experience a crisis of confidence when it comes to math. If this persists, they may struggle with mastery of the core principles required to progress and grow," says Dr. Shawn Mahoney, chief academic officer of McGraw-Hill Education. "Many parents see the value in educational technology and how it can help to both make math fun for kids, as well as play an important role in helping them master the basic building blocks needed for continued success."

Mahoney offers parents the following tips to boost students' math skills:

Assess Your Student
Inquire about your child's strengths and weaknesses as well as their unique needs and preferences. Not all children learn best using the same methods, and what works for your child's peers may not necessarily work for your young scholar.

Talking to your child's teacher can help give a complete picture of his or her progress to determine if any additional help is needed.

Leverage New Technologies
Investigate new technologies and digital products that are designed to help children learn and build confidence in their math abilities. For example, McGraw-Hill Education's tablet-friendly program ALEKS provides a personalized and adaptive learning experience for students based on their strengths and weaknesses. This groundbreaking technology is based on a deep understanding of how students learn and master new concepts.

The program uses research-based adaptive learning technology to determine precisely what each student knows, doesn't know and is most ready to learn in a given course. ALEKS interacts with students like a personal tutor, helping them study more effectively and efficiently by delivering the exact instruction they need when they need it.

Programs like ALEKS are augmenting classroom learning and improving student success rates and test scores by providing the advantages of one-on-one instruction from virtually any web-based device. To learn more, visit aleks.com.

Make Math Come Alive
Make the subject more interesting by introducing your child to mathematical concepts outside the context of a traditional classroom environment. Whether it's a day spent at a children's museum in the math-oriented exhibits or playing digital math games, there are plenty of opportunities to expand the notion of what math is for your child.

Education is a passport to a brighter tomorrow. In the world of today and tomorrow, the importance of numeracy — the ability to understand, work with, and communicate effectively with numbers—is essential. It's never too early or too late to take an active role in getting your child on the path to math success.

This article was originally published in the July 31, 2016, print edition of Back to School. Contact the editor, Jamie Gonzales, with questions or comments: jgonzales@alaskadispatch.com.