Number Fluency. What? Why? How?
One of the three aims of the new curriculum states that pupils (of all ages, not just primary children) will: become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, including through varied and frequent practice with increasingly complex problems over time, so that pupils develop conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately.
But what is NUMBER FLUENCY? How can we help our children become FLUENT WITH NUMBERS?
NUMBER FLUENCY demands more of children than memorising a single procedure - learners need to understand why they are doing what they are doing and know when it is appropriate to use different methods and strategies.
By offering children PRACTICE in context we help them to make links between the types of situations that a particular strategy might suit. Russell calls this 'mathematical memory', which is different from just memorising. She says that important mathematical procedures cannot be "forgotten over the summer" because they are based in a web of connected ideas about fundamental mathematical relationships.
When students achieve AUTOMATICITY with these facts, they have attained a level of mastery that enables them to retrieve them from long-term memory without conscious effort or attention. Here is a short video that may add more to your thinking...