Understanding math concepts has always been challenging for primary school students because either 1) the teaching method is boring, 2) the concepts aren’t explained in practical ways which leaves them asking “What does all this mean?”, or 3) too many worksheets that kill the joy of learning math.
As we all know, there is no shortcut to success in math except through consistent practice, understanding of concepts thoroughly, and build a strong foundation since young. But that doesn’t mean that you have to spend the entire weekend working on math problems with your child.
Most of us are working parents; I can certainly understand your feelings and frustrations. Weekend is a luxury – no one wants to stay at home to drill math questions. I’ll be honest – I don’t do that too. Very often, we’ve the urge to outsource the problem. Tutors are everywhere in Singapore that most of us can afford. Why make our life so stressful?
But I’m committed to my son’s education. I help him with his school works and daily revisions. I encourage him to learn math and develop interest in the subject. I guide him to independence through self and active learning. And I make use of digital technology to enhance his learning in math.
Five Ways to Solve Your Child’s Math Problems with KooBits ProblemSums
In this post, I’ll share with you FIVE different ways to solve your child’s math problems with KooBits ProblemSums, a Singapore math online learning system for primary school students.
1. Learn math as a game with fun quizzes, word problems and rewards
Let’s admit it. Traditional assessment books are boring. If they don’t work for your child, it’s time to try something interactive and learn math through games that are layered with incentives.
In KooBits ProblemSums, our child can learn math through various games i.e. Daily Challenge, Sunday Mini Challenge and Peer Challenge. Each of these challenges is layered with an interesting Challenge Points (CPs) reward system that allows the child to earn points. To top it off, the top scorers and lucky winners will get interesting prizes like toys and movie tickets every week.
If you’re worried that your child might become obsessed with the challenges to redeem more prices, rest assured that this will not happen. There is a cap on the number of questions that our child can do every day, and the portal will automatically shut off after 10pm.
Here’s Edison beaming with pride and excitement for winning a pair of movie tickets from KooBits for the first time.
2. Develop a progress chart and work on the weaknesses, particularly for the slow learners
Every parent does their best to give their child a headstart in education. Some of us may expect our child to come out tops, but neither are we prepared when they end up padding the bottom ranks.
If a child struggles at school, it’s crucial for the parents to remain committed in their child’s education. The child will blossom by learning at his or her own pace, and having extra attention from the parents.
KooBits ProblemSums allows the child to learn at their own pace through a differentiated skills map where all the topics are aligned with the latest MOE syllabus. The progress of the child is captured in the proficiency report; hence parents can help the child to further work on his or her weaknesses.
(Left) Student Proficiency Report, (Right) Differentiated Skills Map
.Unlike other e-learning programs in the market, KooBits ProblemSums is not a ‘one size fits all’ program. It doesn’t just randomly pick questions from the database, but it also customizes our child’s unique learning profile over time. For instance, if Edison is weak in the topic Fractions, he will get more questions on this topic from the system.
This intelligent system totally wins me over! Need I say more?
3. Reap the benefits of peer learning and motivation
All types of peer learning have been shown to be highly effective in terms of boosting motivation and fun than learning alone. I make use of Peer Challenge in KooBits ProblemSums to further motivate him.
This morning when we login to KooBits ProblemSums, he received a challenge from his classmate. I told him, “If you accept the challenge, you will win points. After that, you can also send a challenge to your friend.” He immediately jumped into action and took the challenge. Like most kids, winning is a BIG DEAL! He doesn’t want to lose face, so he must accept the challenge.
In Peer Challenge, our child can send a challenge to a friend of the same school or a random opponent (automatically assigned by the system). When our child challenges their friends or respond to challenges from friends, they will earn Challenge Points (CPs).
So, reap the benefits of peer learning and interaction. If you’re already using KooBits ProblemSums, don’t hesitate to ask other parents to join and let our children benefit from peer learning.
4. Learn anywhere and anytime, even if it’s just ten minutes a day
Digital technology gives us access to math questions no matter where we are, as long as we’re connected to the internet. I’m sure most kids will be hungry for an electronic fix when we’re queuing to pay for our groceries, waiting for food to be served, etc. “Mama, can I play with your iPhone?” this question never fails to irritate me.
Instead of allowing him to break into games, I dish out my tablet and tell him to complete his Daily Challenge on KooBits ProblemSums first. This math portal supports login from PC, MAC, iPad, Android or other tablets. Now, our kids can get their hands on math questions wherever they go.
Ten minutes a day adds up to a little more than an hour a week. So, make use of these free times to learn math. You’ll be surprised at how these daily bite-sized learning can benefit your child, especially for short attention span children.
5. Cultivate self-learning and independence since young
If you ask me what impresses me most about KooBits ProblemSums, I would say the MASSIVE collections of challenging math word problems and video lessons. The math portal features more than 700 mathematical skills and 10,000+ problem sum questions. Seriously, I don’t need a paper-based assessment book anymore.
To top everything off, all questions come with an immediate feedback mechanism to guide students, as well as detailed step-by-step solutions with problem-solving strategies, models and diagrams. Let’s watch one sample question and solution here:
KooBits ProblemSums goes beyond the traditional MCQ and fill-in-the-blank questions as the questions require students to enter workings for reflective review. The math portal also has a pictorial model function that allows students to draw model diagrams effortlessly.
Don’t worry if you do not have time to do the marking for your child. This brilliant portal comes with auto-marking features, which is a huge relief for many parents.
Technology drives innovation in teaching and learning. With a fantastic math portal like KooBits ProblemSums, we can cultivate self-learning ability of our child since young.
Using KooBits ProblemSums is one of the best educational decisions I’ve ever made for Edison. The benefits of it far exceed the traditional paper-based assessment books and teaching method. And I truly believe that it will help Edison to excel in math.
During the product demonstration with KooBits, I was told that the annual subscription fee for this math portal will be kept below $30. This is really a steal! I spend more than $30 on math assessment books every year.
As of now, ProblemSums is only available for school purchase. KooBits has a plan to open the subscription to all parents in future so that more children can benefit from it. For more information on KooBits ProblemSums, please visit their website HERE. You can also read my previous post about the detailed product features.
If you have other useful tips for making math fun for kids, do share them in the comment section below. I love to hear from you too!
