August 28, 2019

Guest Column: Understanding math gaps

With the beginning of school, I’d like to share information about learning math.

What is a learning gap?

A math learning gap refers to any math skill that a student should have previously mastered but didn’t. Examples of learning gaps include a fifth grader who didn’t learn what the numerator in a fraction means, or a tenth grader who doesn’t know when the commutative property applies in algebra.

How do learning gaps happen?

Learning gaps occur for all kinds of reasons. Some common ones include:

A child missed a lesson due to illness or family circumstances.
The teacher did not adequately cover the concept.
The math curriculum does not cover the concept in depth enough.
The math instruction went too fast.
The child learned to solve problems using an algorithm but lacks conceptual understanding.
Child felt sick or stressed while the concept was being taught and didn’t retain the information.
Child got a rudimentary understanding of the concept but didn’t master enough to understand how and when to apply it.

Why are Learning Gaps a Problem?

Math skills build upon each other. Some skills are called foundational. Without mastering foundational skills advancing in more difficult concepts becomes almost impossible. For example, a child who hasn’t learned to count backward will struggle with subtraction. This is especially true for those who have the learning disability, dyscalculia. The learning gaps often lead to an apathetic attitude, anxiety and behavior problems.

How Should Learning Gaps be Addressed?

Effective instruction aimed at the missed or poorly understood concept is the best remedy for a learning gap. Students need the opportunity to apply the concept in a variety of situations and to ask questions to clear up any misunderstandings. Fixing a learning gap due to a conceptual misunderstanding takes time and practice.

When do Learning Gaps Close?

Learning gaps close when they are addressed. This can be a week or years after the learning should have occurred. The more quickly a learning gap is addressed the fewer problems it will create, but it is never too late to close a learning gap.

Vipul Bhatt,
Mathnasium of Glen Mills

About CFLive Staff

See Contributors Page https://chaddsfordlive.com/writers/

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Chadds Ford Days are back

Along the Ford

Dancers 02 — Chadds Ford Days, the colonial fair, returns to the Chadds Ford Historical Society on Sept. 14 and 15.

It’s back like the Phoenix but with the great bird relying on its own roots for a comeback. It’s Chadds Ford Days, coming back to the Chadds Ford Historical Society on the weekend of Sept. 14 and 15 after a one year hiatus.

The roots of Chadds Ford Days refer to the fact that the colonial fair began as, and should remain, a celebration of what Chadds Ford is all about, according to CFHS Board President Phyllis Recca.

A scavenger hunt is one of the events planned for kids.

“It lost its focus on history over the years,” she said. “We’re resurrecting the emphasis on our colonial roots. … This event is specific to us. No one else has that colonial spin.”

She said Chadds Ford history centers around three things, Colonial America, art and the Battle of Brandywine. Recca earlier said that was what Chris Sanderson had in mind when he started Chadds Ford Days back in 1958.

Gone from this year’s event are things like the moon bounce, but colonial crafts are returning. On tap are a sawmill demonstration and a blacksmith. There will also be history lessons for kids, Recca said. Andrew Outten from the Brandywine Battlefield Park will be on hand with a mini education program featuring musket drills and a water balloon launch.

Crafts for kids include marble making and the making of felt bags. There will also be a scavenger hunt where the youngsters will have to find a variety of colonial images scattered around the Historical Society grounds.

There will still be live music, but it will be Bluegrass instead of rock.

The emphasis on history will also include at least four different lectures, including talks by re-enactor Noah Lewis, historian Mike Harris, artist Adrian Martinez and Phi Duffy who will talk about Washington’s spies.

Chadds Ford Days will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, Sept.14 and 15. Admission is $10 for adults, $5 for kids 7-17 and free for those 6 and younger and for CFHS members..

About Rich Schwartzman

Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.

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Police Log Aug. 28: DUI, fraud, drug possession

Police

Pennsylvania State Police

• A traffic stop shortly before 7 p.m. in the 1200 block of Stockford Road, Pennsbury Township, on Aug. 20 led to the driver being taken into custody for DUI and drug possession. The driver’s name was not released in the report. A search of the vehicle revealed a marijuana smoking pipe.

• Police are investigating a case of fraud and forgery at the Walmart in East Marlborough Township o Aug. 21. A report said the unnamed suspect tried using a fraudulent identification card to obtain a money transfer. The suspect fled before police arrived.

• An unidentified suspect was taken into custody for attempted retail theft at the Walmart on Aug. 21. A report said the suspect, from Philadelphia, changed the price tag of a hoverboard from $167 to $19 and then bought the board for $19. Walmart Loss Prevention approached him and brought him to the Loss Prevention Office where he was taken into custody without incident and transported to PSP Avondale for processing. It was then determined there were three active arrest warrants in the Commonwealth Law Enforcement Assistance Network (CLEAN) for him. The arrest warrants were from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania for a parole violation, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania for a probation violation and West Whiteland Township Police Department for retail theft. The suspect was transported to Chester County Prison and lodged on the warrants

• A traffic stop on Kennett Pike in Kennett Township led to the vehicle’s passenger being arrested on drug charges. Police said troopers detected a strong odor of burnt marijuana coming from the vehicle. The passenger of the vehicle was identified — but not named in the report — and was in possession of a small amount of marijuana and was taken into custody.

Kennett Township Police

• Kennett Township police said a report of erratic driving led to the arrest of a Delaware man for an out of state warrant. Police identified the driver as Edward Tynes, 57, of New Castle. He was taken into custody and transported to Chester County Prison pending extradition.

• Police said a woman identified only as Lucia Bernal-Castaneda was arrested for DUI at 2:20 a.m. on Aug. 18. Her vehicle was stopped for equipment and moving violations in the 9100 block of Gap Newport Pike. According to the report, Bernal-Castaneda was unable to successfully perform standardized field sobriety testing and was arrested for suspicion of driving while under the influence of alcohol.

• On Aug. 13 Kennett Township Police Department responded to a business in the 1000 block of Kaolin Road for an intoxicated employee creating a disturbance. Officers made contact with the employee — identified as Juan Caraquilla — who was visibly intoxicated. Caraquilla agreed to go back to his on-site apartment and to stay in for the night. However, while patrolling a short while later, officers observed him walking along the road in the area of N. Union Street and Hillendale Road, the report said. He continued to show indicators of impairment and had difficulty standing upright. He was transported to a relative’s home and cited for public drunkenness.