In looking for a new math program for my 1st grader, the thought came to me that I would really like to know the pros and cons of using a spiral approach versus a mastery approach. Is there anyone out there that has tried curricula from both approaches, and could you tell me the pros and cons of both? Thanks.
I know effectiveness of any program depends on how well it matches or teaches to your child's particular learning style, but I'm just trying to figure out which approach would work best for him. So if anyone can tell me why either approach did or did not work for your child, it might give me a better idea of what will work for mine.
My oldest has always done a program based on spiral approach, and has done well. We started with AOP Lifepacs and moved to Teaching Textbooks. My middle started with Math-U-See because I had several friends who loved it, recommended it, etc. He was bored to TEARS. He did not like a mastery approach at all. Switched him to AOP Lifepacs and he adored math! LOL Put him in Teaching Textbooks as soon as I was able, also. He, also, loves TT. My youngest started with Horizons, which is spiral. She loved it! And I loved it. But then she wanted to do TT like her siblings. So she is now in TT also.
Saxon Math gave my oldest a very strong foundation in math, but my middle child would not tolerate the repetition. I got him through the first four or five years with Saxon modifying it slightly and then went with Life of Fred. I think the spiral approach is best IF your child will tolerate it. There are a few who just don't need the repetition. There are more, however, that get bored and check out mentally with too much repetition. That's my middle child's problem; if he's not engaged, the repetition is futile. So, with him, I just move forward and I reteach concepts as the need arises. If you don't know where to start, I think it would be easier to start with the spiral approach and then switch to the mastery approach rather than the other way around.
Back when I was in school myself (yes, back when dinosaurs roamed the earth! LOL), that's all there was, mastery. Well, it sort of spiraled from year to year, in that first you did addition, then subtraction, then ... whatever, and you did that one thing to death (BORING!), then tackled the next thing, then didn't really see it again until next year. I hated math, but didn't know there was another way to do it. Until I started homeschooling my DS and found Saxon math. SPIRAL! If I could have done math this way, I might have done better... only a couple/few of each kind of problem each day. Then I found CLE! Same concept of incremental spiral, but with better explanations/examples than Saxon, IMO. I have a tiny private school, and most of my students have come out of public school, so whatever kind of math they're teaching in ps... I don't know anymore but it's not working. When I started this, 13 years ago, I could count on students being on level in one thing and about one year behind in the other (reading or math). Now the kids (at least the students I'm getting) are coming out of public waaaaaay behind. But the longer they stay with me, doing CLE math, the better their attitude toward math and the better they do on annual achievement tests. My DGS finished second grade this year, having always done CLE math, and he scored way up in the 90s percentiles.
I like mastery, but I don't know if a Math-U-See kind of mastery would work for us. We have used Singapore and if you go in order then you will be on one topic for 1-4 weeks. I like to work from two different points in the book though so my son might be doing geometry and multiplication topics in the same week. Everything builds on each other though so you continue to practice many concepts because they would appear in other problems. I like the Asian math approach. It has really helped me learn to enjoy math. I did well on math in school, but never enjoyed it. Because I am enjoying math now, I am better able to pass on enthusiasm for the topic to my kids. We moved from Singapore 5 to Art of Problem Solving. I guess it would be mastery as well except the author of the curriculum believes that if you are getting everything right the math is too easy. So he gives tons of really challenging problems that help you really learn how to think through the problems. I've found that when I understand the why, it is a good route to mastery.
We've also tried both, and spiral was nothing but frustrating. Just about the time a kid gets the hang of something, it throws something else at you. By the time you get back to it again, they've forgotten what they "learned" the first time. Mastery works great for us!! Learning something, rock solid, before moving on has done wonders! Yes, we still review, but we're not working on several types of concepts at the same time and switching back and forth all the time. For a 1st grader, I'd recommend Miquon. We tried it because it was cheaper than MUS, and we fell in love with it.
I don't think it's so much a pros and cons kind of thing. Each has pros and each has cons, but most likely one will just work better with your kiddo than the other. It may be trial and error to find the right one. For us, we prefer spiral approach. For a while, I thought DD (who is not "mathy") needed mastery. We went that direction with her, guess what... she still wasn't "mathy" and asked to go back to our original math (McRuffy). She is going to do 2nd grade level this year in 3rd grade (we were about 1/4 or so throught it when we changed). I was at first nervous about her being behind... but McRuffy is quite advanced. My 2nd grader will be doing the same math.
It sounds like you tried too wide of a spiral. McRuffy is a tight spiral. You learn something then you see that in the next few days work then it will slow down to only being occasionally there, but it pops up often enough to keep it in your mind.
I never tried McRuffy, but I tried Abeka, Horizons, Singapore, and R&S (and others that don't come to mind right now). None of them worked for us. We've liked Miquon, Life of Fred, and IXL. LoF is a little bit spiral, but not as much as many of the workbook styles out there.
I used Horizons math which is somewhat spiral. I like that you move on, yet the student is given reviews of a concept in future lessons. I know I do not learn and remember for ever, and do not expect my students to. THis way they are not drilled into boredom and hatred, but get to work on a given learning objective repeatedly. THey get to where each item is seen less and less often and with fewer problems in a set. In this way the ideas are not fogotten.
Hi and welcome! AOP is Alpha Omega Publishers. They produce Lifepacs, Horizons, Weaver, Switched on Schoolhouse, and Monarch.
Thanks all! I decided to go with AOP Lifepacs. We'll see how he does. Honestly, I have no idea what will work for him. I just know I have to use a program that does not stress mental math.
