为什么疫情期间学生们很难学好数学？

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Students at American public schools struggled in math during the pandemic.

在大流行期间，美国公立学校的学生在数学方面很吃力。

The National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) is a math and reading test given to fourth and eighth grade students in public schools around the country.

美国“国家教育进步评价”（简称NAEP）是一项针对全美公立学校四年级和八年级学生的测试，评价内容为数学和阅读。

Results from this year showed that students' scores had the largest decreases in math since 1990, when the test was first released. All areas of the U.S. reported lower test scores in math.

今年的结果显示，学生的数学成绩出现了自1990年首次发布该测试以来的最大降幅。美国所有地区公布的数学考试成绩都有所下降。

More than one-third of students scored below basic levels. The decreases were also more severe in math than in reading. There has been a lot of evidence showing that students struggled with remote learning during the pandemic.

超过三分之一的学生的成绩低于基本水平。数学成绩的下降也比阅读成绩的下降更严重。有大量证据表明，学生在大流行期间在远程学习方面很吃力。

They especially struggled with math, said Frances Anderson. She is an education researcher with the University of Nebraska-Omaha and a former teacher.

弗朗西丝·安德森说学生们在数学方面尤其吃力。她是内布拉斯加大学奥马哈分校的教育研究员，之前曾是一名教师。

Her work centers on math ability. She said in an interview with The Conversation that students, who are not as skilled in math, need more face-to-face learning.

她的工作集中在学生的数学能力上。她在接受“对话”采访时表示，不太擅长数学的学生，需要更多的面对面学习。

Anderson said that during remote learning, "teachers didn't have as many ways to keep students engaged. It was difficult to do hands-on activities and project-based learning, which are better for students who struggle in math."

安德森说，在远程学习期间，“教师没有那么多方法让学生参与进来。实践活动和基于项目的学习很难进行，而这两者对数学不好的学生更有效果。”

She added that a lot teaching math is visual learning. "You need so much more than one screen," she said. Heather Hill and Jon Star are professors at Harvard University's school of education.

她补充称很多数学教学都是视觉学习。她说：“你需要的远不止是一个屏幕。”希瑟·希尔和乔恩·斯塔是哈佛大学教育学院的教授。

They spoke on Harvard University's education podcast about the NAEP results. Hill said "math scores have always been more sensitive than reading and English scores to students' opportunities to learn."

他们在哈佛大学的教育播客上谈到了NAEP的结果。希尔说：“数学成绩比阅读成绩和英语成绩更易受到学生学习机会的影响。”

She said a lot of reading skills are developed in the home, in addition to school. Kids can read books and the internet at home, or read text messages from friends, for example.

她说，除了学校之外，很多阅读技能都是在家里培养的。例如，孩子们可以在家里阅读书籍和互联网上的内容，或者阅读朋友发来的短信。

But there are fewer ways for kids to work on math skills outside of the classroom. "School is the only place that kids, for the most part, learn math," Hill said.

但对于孩子们来说，在课堂之外学习数学技能的途径要少一些。希尔说：“在大多数情况下，学校是孩子们学习数学的唯一地方。”

Star, who is also a math teacher, argued that NAEP scores were low for eighth graders because of the age at which these students started learning remotely.

同时也是一名数学教师的斯塔认为，八年级学生的NAEP分数低是因为这些学生处于开始远程学习的时期。

He said that the two years leading up to eighth grade, where scores declined the most, are extremely important for building math skills. He said those are the years when students start moving from arithmetic to algebra, and other more complex mathematics.

他说，八年级之前的两年，也就是学生成绩下降最严重的时期，对于培养数学能力极为重要。他说，那两年是学生们开始从算术转向代数和其他更复杂的数学的时期。

The NAEP for eighth graders largely tests algebra skills. "So…it's no surprise that they're really struggling. Those struggles are not going to be easy to make go away," Star said.

针对八年级学生的NAEP主要测试代数技能。“所以，他们学习数学真的很吃力也就不足为奇了。要让这种吃力局面消失并不容易，”斯塔说。

He added that in online learning, teachers were forced to teach math using the "least desirable aspects of math instruction that we wouldn't want to see". Teachers had to lecture more and there was less student interaction, which is not as effective for math instruction, he said.

他补充称，在线上学习中，教师们被迫使用“数学教学中最不可取的方式”来教授数学，那是我们不希望看到的。他表示，老师们必须讲得更多，和学生之间的互动减少了，这对数学教学来说并不那么有成效。

"It's not necessarily the teachers' fault, it's just the way that they've been forced to teach during the pandemic," Star said. Hill added that there is some evidence that teachers do not perform as well when they teach math.

“这并不一定是教师的错，这只是疫情期间他们被迫采取的教学方式，”斯塔说。希尔补充称，有一些证据表明，教师在教授数学时表现不佳。

Often, teachers do not especially enjoy math, nor think of themselves as math experts, she said. And that feeling can make it hard to teach the subject confidently.

她说，通常教师不是特别喜欢数学，也不认为自己是数学专家。那种感觉会让人很难自信地教授这个科目。

Both said it is going to very difficult for schools to make up for learning losses during the pandemic, especially for the students who struggled the most.

两人都表示，学校很难弥补大流行期间学生在学习上的损失，尤其是对那些学得最吃力的学生来说。

Especially with math, students returned from the pandemic with uneven abilities. It can be hard for teachers to form lesson plans for entire classes when the skills are so varied among students, Star said.

特别是在数学方面，大流行后回归学校的学生能力参差不齐。斯塔说，当学生的技能千差万别时，教师很难为整个班级制定课程计划。

They agreed that to make up for the loss in learning, students are going to need a lot of extra help outside the classroom. "Students who have fallen behind should have twice as much instruction," said Anderson, from the University of Nebraska.

他们一致认为，为了弥补学习上的损失，学生们将需要在课堂之外获得大量的额外帮助。来自内布拉斯加大学的安德森说：“落后的学生应该接受双倍的指导。”

Resources should go to students and communities which struggled the most, often minorities, Hill suggested. For example, tutoring students in small groups can help kids catch up in math.

希尔建议，资源应该流向学习最吃力的学生和社区，通常是少数群体。例如，以小组为单位辅导学生可以帮助孩子们在数学方面赶上进度。

Hill said although difficulties lie ahead, "kids are pretty resilient. You give kids opportunities to learn and they learn stuff."

希尔说，虽然前方困难重重，“但孩子们的适应力很强。你给孩子们学习的机会，他们就能学到东西。”

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