What is Maths fluency?

Students have only so much energy. The more energy students spend on figuring out smaller questions, the less they’ll have when it comes to critically and creatively tackling the whole question.

If we’re to look at a student’s brain, those with high fluency skills would have efficient neural pathways, meaning there’s less energy spent and less time is taken for the question to be received and for the answer to be found.

The good news is that these neural pathways are strengthened with repeated exercise, like the practice they get each day using our brick walls.

By getting students to practice fluency, we are strengthening the mind muscles they need to do heavier lifting and for longer.

Motivation, engagement and progress all rely on students’ confidence that they can complete tasks. For students with mathematics anxiety (the feeling of being overwhelmed or paralysed by mathematics), this is especially important.

Strong fluency allows students to work and see success independently, growing their sense of autonomy and confidence, and helping them see whole problems as small, achievable steps.

Hand-in-hand with saving energy, fluency saves time for students, and this has two distinct benefits: it helps students stay focused on the logical progression of problems and perform better in problem-solving.

Focus – In a multi-step problem that asks students to use several approaches (like a mix of geometry, algebra, fractions and so on), being able to recall or solve the minutiae with little or no effort keeps them from losing focus on their logical progression.

Better problem solving – Fluency alleviates these pressures; first, by enabling students to attempt to complete more complex questions, and by getting around the roadblocks of basic computations (like counting on fingers, writing down, working out or reaching for the calculator).