Untimed Tests
Overview
Untimed tests provide students the opportunity to flexibly and productively work with numbers, further developing their problem-solving abilities. Math anxiety has also been found to affect students more in timed situations. Untimed tests have been found to reduce this negative Emotion, freeing up students' Working Memory for Arithmetic Fact Retrieval and Operations.
Example: Use This Strategy In in the Classroom
Design It into Your Product
Videos are chosen as examples of strategies in action. These choices are not endorsements of the products or evidence of use of research to develop the feature.
Learn how Brainquake's Wuzzit Trouble Math promotes problem-solving and pattern recognition under untimed conditions. By including a redo option, learners can try a puzzle again to practice more efficient strategies and deepen their number sense.
Additional Resources
Additional examples, research, and professional development. These resources are possible representations of this strategy, not endorsements.
Factors Supported by this Strategy
More Instructional Approaches Strategies
Providing math tasks with high cognitive demand conveys high expectations for all students by challenging them to engage in higher-order thinking.
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Teaching students to recognize common problem structures helps them transfer solution methods from familiar to unfamiliar problems.
Discussing strategies for solving mathematics problems after initially letting students attempt to problem solve on their own helps them understand how to organize their mathematical thinking and intentionally tackle problems.
In guided inquiry, teachers help students use their own language for constructing knowledge by active listening and questioning.
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Through short but regular mindfulness activities, students develop their awareness and ability to focus.
Instruction in multiple formats allows students to activate different cognitive skills to understand and remember the steps they are to take in their math work.
Using multiple methods of assessment can help educators gain a comprehensive understanding of learner progress across a wide range of skills and content.
When teachers connect math to the students' world, students see how math is relevant and applicable to their daily lives.
A strengths-based approach is one where educators intentionally identify, communicate, and harness students' assets, across many aspects of the whole child, in order to empower them to flourish.
Writing that encourages students to articulate their understanding of math concepts or explain math ideas helps deepen students' mathematical understanding.
