Calculating in Your Head: Multiplication and Division Level 1

Did you know that a Stanford School of Medicine study found that your brain changes as you learn mental math? Your brain uses both the left and right hemispheres as you manipulate numbers and solve arithmetic in your head. Mental math is not just for on-the-fly computation, it trains your brain, improves your number sense, and makes you more creative at solving higher level math problems. 

Students in this course will learn strategies for manipulating numbers and performing calculations in their heads. Learners who enroll in this class should already be familiar with pencil-and-paper methods of multiplying and dividing numbers. The intent of this course is *not* to teach multi-digit multiplication and division, but rather to learn to manipulate numbers within certain constraints (no scratchwork and a limited amount of time).

This is a 10-week flexible schedule class with lessons, assignments, and communication in the Outschool Classroom. Each week will have one or two pre-recorded class videos with assessments, lessons, practice assignments, discussion questions, and links to Google Forms for submitting answers. The asynchronous nature of this course allows me to give learners personalized feedback and provide 12 sessions of content in 10 weeks without the hassle of coordinating time for extra live sessions. 

The 10 weeks of the course look like this: 
Week 1:  Introduction to the Course and Practice with the Methods; Diagnostic Assessment 
AND Lesson 1 -- Multiplying by a Factor with Trailing Zeros
Week 2: Lesson 2 -- Multiplying When Both Factors Have Trailing Zeros
Week 3: Lesson 3 --  Dividing When There Are Trailing Zeros in the Dividend
Week 4: Lesson 4 -- Doubling Two- and Three-Digit Numbers
Week 5: Lesson 5 -- Changing a Division Problem into Multiplication
Week 6: Lesson 6 -- Dividing When There Are Trailing Zeros in Both the Divisor and Dividend
Week 7: Lesson 7 -- Dividing By Expanding the Dividend
Week 8: Lesson 8 -- Using Compatible Numbers to Simplify Multi-Step Multiplication
Week 9: Lesson 9 -- Multiplying By Halving One Factor and Doubling the Other
Week 10: Choosing the Appropriate Strategy (Mixed Practice and Review) AND Cumulative Assessment and Celebration

After the initial set-up and diagnostic, the lesson cycle follows the following pattern: 
1. Pre-test to assess students' skills with a specific type of problem 
--> Learners will have a specific goal for their pre-test based on their diagnostic results.
2. Strategy lesson to introduce a strategy that will help students with that particular type of problem
3. Individual and class communication in the Outschool Classroom
4. Homework
5. (At the start of the next week's video . . .) Review and Post-Test 
--> Learners will aim to increase their score on the lesson's topic from their pre-test the previous week.

While watching the video for each lesson, learners will be prompted to pause the video and complete "in-class" assignments such as entering their answers for a pre- or post-test into Google Forms or responding to a question as a comment in the Outschool Classroom. In addition, there are short homework assignments for each lesson to encourage students to practice their skills outside of class time. Students will submit their answers for the assessments to a Google Form so that I can track their progress. A Google account is not necessary -- students will simply follow the link provided and enter their answers. The total time spent watching the videos and completing the "in-class" assignments each week should be about 45-60 minutes. The additional time per week spent on homework and responding to the teacher and other students in the Outschool Classroom should be about 15-20 min. 

At the end of the course, students will have a set of nine introductory strategies for multiplying and dividing multi-digit numbers without a calculator. They are then encouraged to take Calculating in Your Head: Multiplication and Division Level 2 or Calculating in Your Head: Addition and Subtraction Level 2 as their next step in increasing their mental math skills.