The Importance of Number Sense.

We talk about number sense in regard to our students but I can tell you with absolute certainty, that too many students arrive in high school with little to no number sense.  Unfortunately, the lack of number sense creates some problems of its own.  

Students who have a well developed number sense tend to do better in math because a good number sense encourages them to think flexibly while feeling more confident. 

In addition, if students do not develop a strong number sense early on, they will have difficulty developing the foundational knowledge to do even simple arithmetic and certainly will struggle with performing more complex mathematics. A study of seventh graders was conducted back in 2013 lead researchers to conclude that the students who struggled at this age were the same ones who had the least amount of number sense in first grade.

Students can develop number sense by visualizing numbers in a variety of different contexts, exploring numbers, and relating to numbers in different ways but it takes time.  One way to help students develop a better number sense is to show there are multiple ways to complete a problem.  Ask students for suggestions on how to solve it and write the suggestions on the board.  This gives students a chance to see different strategies.

Another suggestion is to ask students to calculate certain problems in their head because when students perform mental math it helps them build their knowledge of numbers and their relationships.  When the numbers get a bit too large or does not work with the memorized steps they need to learn to be flexible with ways to solve these problems.

In addition, teachers should have students participate in classroom discussions where they talk about different strategies that could be used to solve various problems.  This helps students clarify their thinking while developing the ability to critical think about other peoples strategies.  It is important to note the strategies on the board so students can see a relationship between their mathematical thinking and symbolic representation.

Take a moment to embed estimation and rounding activities into various situations as it is something that textbooks do not cover as well.  Furthermore, the teacher should ask them about their numerical thinking for both correct and incorrect answers because it shows you value their thinking and it has to make sense to them.  Finally, take time to pose questions which have more than one answer such as two numbers added together make 35.  What two numbers might they be? or Suggest three sets of numbers that add up to 35.

So it is important to work with students on developing number sense, even if they are in high school.  Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  I do plan to revisit this. Have a great day.