On speed and fluency

I really enjoyed this article by former NCTM president Cathy Seeley, “Faster Isn’t Smarter”. It’s been interesting over the years to get to talk to many mathematicians that did not feel like they were good at math as children, because of their relatively slow speed.

Fluency matters, but it’s not real surprising that students expect all math problems to be solvable within seconds if they are given thousands of problems that are solved within seconds, and rewarded for how quickly or how many they can do within a time limit. Seeley also discusses issues that emerge in a timed, high-stress environment:

“Some students respond well to competitive and timed situations, thriving on the pressure to bring out their best; others have quite a different reaction. This particular boy received a clear message that some students are good at math and some are not—and he knew which group he was in. He also was prevented from finishing the test, something that causes some students tremendous frustration.”

The article offers some simple suggestions for changing this dynamic in favor of fluency without focusing on speed. Thanks!