City to Surf Run

Last weekend my husband and I travelled (kid-free!) to Syndey to take part in the 'City 2 Surf' Fun Run. 

The 'City 2 Surf' is a 14km course from the Sydney's CBD to the iconic Bondi Beach. Approximately 77,000 people took part in this year's event (!) making it the world's largest fun run. It was an incredibly beautiful (but hilly) run!

My husband and I decided to enter the race earlier this year.

I run 10km most days, so I knew I would probably make the distance, but I knew if I wanted to be confident to complete the course (and be happy with my time), I needed to start some more specific training. I needed to run further than 10km a couple of times per week, and I needed to do some more hill work. 

For those interested, below is the course map, and you can see the course elevation is shown in the graph at the bottom (so much maths!). There is a famous hill called 'Heartbreak Hill' about halfway through the 14km- it is a doozy!

Over the past few months I have been working steadily towards my goal of completing the course with ease and speed (with bonus points if I could beat my husband!).

My training regime, got me thinking about the difference between accuracy and fluency.

I knew that I had the fitness base to be accurate (complete the journey) in the City2Surf, but it was only through specific training that I could be sure I could complete it with fluency (ease and speed).

For other people entering the race, they may not have been concerned at all about their time. They were just aiming to successfully complete the 14km. Accuracy was their goal.

For these people, training would have looked very different to my training.

Some may have been novice runners and never run 14km before. Some may have been coming in with injuries and not sure if their body would hold up on the day, or some may have not done much training, and hoped to 'pull it out on the day'!

For these people the focus was just 'making it to the finish line'.

For others, like me, who had the training 'under their belt' it was about fluency. We knew we would make it, but our goal was completing it the best time possible. 

For me this is the key difference. Time.

When we work on fluency, time matters. The only way you can measure improvement in fluency is using a timed element. 

This made me think of the maths classroom.

Sometimes we are working on accuracy with our students. We just want them to 'get' a skill and be able to perform it correctly.

But once they have accuracy (which most assessments measure- are they 'right or wrong'), we then need to help them work on the ease and speed with which they retrieve this knowledge. This is the fluency.

For me, it is not enough for students just to be accurate, particularly with many critical basic skills, like part-part-whole, place value, addition/subtraction/multiplication/division facts. They must develop fluency, so they can build on these skills, and access more complex mathematical ideas.

This is where our fluency work comes in.

Whether it is games, flash cards or other approaches, once students are deemed accurate we must help them take the next step to become fluent.

It is critical that we as teachers can recognise when students need to work on accuracy and when they are ready to work on fluency. Both require different pedagogical approaches.

If you use a timed element when students are inaccurate in a skill, this will lead to frustration and anxiety in the students. Think about those people in the City2Surf who were just wanting to complete the race. Timing was not important or useful to them. In fact, if you kept barking times at them as they ran, they would most likely become frustrated and anxious. Their goal was accuracy- time was irrelevant for them at that point.

On the other hand, for me, time was critical- I was checking my watch regularly through the race. My time was a measure of whether I had achieved my goal or not! (I am happy to say I was happy with my time- so goal achieved!)

So, this week I want you to have a think about your students. Are they working on their accuracy in a skill? That is, are they inconsistently responding, and still getting confused or answering incorrectly? What pedagogical approaches will you use for these students?

Or are they 100% accurate in the skill? If so, this suggests they are ready to work on their fluency! What pedagogical approaches will you use for these students? 

Understanding and recognising the difference between accuracy and fluency is knowing your students, and that allows you to differentiate accordingly!

Have a great week!

Ange🎲🎓

P.S. You can download the PDF version of this blog to print or share with colleagues here.