When a Workaround Becomes a Trap

Want to get notified about new posts? Join the mailing list and follow on X/Twitter.

Some alternative learning methods feel easier because they avoid the actual skill. I mean, take lattice multiplication, for example.

Kids often like it because it’s really pretty and visual and it’s fun to draw, but it’s also slow, and if they 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 trap, a crutch.

The homework takes longer, more advanced problems get harder, and the student has to go back and relearn that method that they should have been practicing all along.

I mean, it’s inefficient and leads to all sorts of frustration.

Further reading: Common Failure Modes in Early Math Education .

Want to get notified about new posts? Join the mailing list and follow on X/Twitter.