Some Alternative Methods Avoid the Actual Skill

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Some alternative learning methods feel easier because they avoid the actual skill.

For instance: lattice multiplication.

Kids often like it because it’s really pretty and visual and fun to draw.

But…

It’s also really slow and inefficient.

And if kids get attached to it, they just stop practicing the more efficient standard method.

And if you let this continue, then eventually…

The alternative method becomes a workaround.

And the workaround becomes a crutch.

It’s a trap.

The homework takes longer.

More advanced problems get needlessly harder.

And the student has to go back and relearn that method that they should have been practicing

all along.

It’s inefficient, and leads to all sorts of frustration.

Further reading: Common Failure Modes in Early Math Education .

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