How Can An After-School Math Enrichment Program Help My Child?

In the recent years, there has been a lot written about U.S. standards in math education.

According to the 2012 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) — a study which measures proficiency in math, reading, and science for around 500,000 15-year-old students in 65 countries, the United States performed “below average” in mathematics and ranked 27th among 34 Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries.

The country’s performance in reading and science was closer to the OECD average. Much of the rhetoric has been around whether math is taught with the same rigor in U.S. schools compared to other countries. This perception that students need more focus on math could be partly responsible for the growing popularity of private, after-school math enrichment programs.

Most of the math programs have originated from countries known for their stringent math education such as Japan, Korea, and Russia. I myself have sent my children to a couple of such programs and have found them to have their pros and cons. Here is a look at some of the popular math enrichment programs and what they offer.

The method focuses on a student's ability to understand math concepts and its logic. To start, an assessment test establishes a student's skill level and identifies any gaps in his or her knowledge. These assessments are given regularly throughout the program to monitor math skills.

With the program, a customized learning plan is carried out by trained instructors. That means in one learning group, your child could be working on fractions while neighbors could be working on long division or mathematical word problems.
approach is more hands-on with tutoring sessions that typically have one instructor to about four students. Mathnasium creates interest in Math subject which kid can start loving it instead of hating for whole life.

Kumon 

Kumon, which originated in Japan, has spread over 48 countries, training millions of students worldwide.

There are over 2,000 centers all in the U.S. today. Kumon caters to kids from preschool through 12th grade. The central theme of Kumon is self-directed learning. Students do not have instruction time in the Kumon center but learn independently from worksheets through examples.

The Kumon approach emphasizes regular work, and students have to complete a worksheet every day. Kumon's repetition-based program where your kids get bored and no Logical reasoning development, ultimately lost concentration, and a confidence.

Eye Level 

Among one of the other fast growing programs today is South Korea’s Eye Level (or E.Nopi as it was formerly known). It emphasizes critical thinking in addition to regular math.

The critical thinking problems require students to develop their thinking in areas such spatial reasoning, logic, and pattern recognition. It also does not have a designated instruction time, and students are for the most part encouraged to learn from examples in the worksheets but can ask their instructor for help if they need explanation.

Singapore Math 

Singapore has consistently performed well in international assessments, and its math curriculum and teaching approach known as Singapore math has become increasingly popular. Several private schools and homeschoolers have it in their mainstream curricula.

As an enrichment program, it is taught in weekend enrichment programs such as SchoolPlus. The approach uses a combination of numerical and pictorial techniques to teach concepts. Emphasis is on laying a sound foundation and mastery of topics before moving the student to the next level.

ALOHA 

With its roots in Malaysia, ALOHA or Abacus Learning of Higher Arithmetic, builds speed and expertise in mental math. Kids can start from the age of five and are first taught with an abacus, which is an ancient tool used for math. Later, they graduate to performing calculations by visualizing an abacus without actually using one.

Students have designated instruction time in their weekly sessions and also have some homework in between sessions. With its focus on speed and mental arithmetic, ALOHA has gained popularity and has centers in 14 countries worldwide.

These are just a few enrichment programs among the many available for students. Others such as JEI, Russian math, and Vedic math classes are also gaining momentum in the U.S.