Effective Instructional Strategies to Ensure Fifth Grade Mathematics Readiness
Literature Review
The purpose of this literature review is an exploration into effective instructional strategies to ensure fifth grade mathematics readiness. This two-part study investigates what teachers consider to be key elements in instructional design and implementation to support mathematics curriculum across the elementary grade levels. It will also investigate specific mathematics skills that teachers believe should be taught and reinforced each year from kindergarten through fifth grade.
Due to the constant changes to the national and state education programs, there has been an increase in the focus on language objectives and literacy skills in the classroom today, while mathematics skills have received increasingly less emphasis and become less of a priority. “Although students have made progress in some areas of math, when it comes to basic arithmetic—in particular, the ability to compute—growth has been disappointing” (Loveless, 2003). Students who have as yet to show proficiency in fundamental mathematics skills by the fourth grade year will quite possible require remedial instruction. It is difficult, and often impossible, for educators to adhere to the curriculum structure of the current grade level when students are not yet proficient in the basic concepts that should have been mastered in previous grade levels.
The Reteaching of Mathematics Skills to Fifth Grade Students
Studies indicate that student mathematics achievement has remained unchanged in lower elementary grades as compared to the middle school grades (Kutscher, 2008). Reteaching is necessary to reintroduce and reinforce mathematics concepts to students who have be...
... middle of paper ...
...tp://search.proquest.com/docview/220631972?accountid=10248
Loveless, T. (Director) (2003, February 6). Trends in math achievement: the importance of basic skills. Mathematics and Science Initiative. Lecture conducted from U.S. Secretary of Education, Washington, D.C.. Retrieved from http://www.brookings.edu/research/speeches/2003/02/06education-loveless
Linder, S. M., Powers-Costello, B., & Stegelin, D. A. (2011). Mathematics in early childhood: Research-based rationale and practical strategies. Early Childhood Education Journal, 39(1), 29-37. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10643-010-0437-6
Slavin, R. E., & Lake, C. (2008). Effective programs in elementary mathematics: A best-evidence synthesis. Review of Educational Research, 78(3), 427-515. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.cu-portland.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/214120806?accountid=10248
Whenever learning about this project for SMED 310, I wanted to pick out a learner who I knew had a low self-concept and low self-efficacy in their mathematics ability. After thinking back over the years, I remembered a friend I had in high school who had struggled with their math courses. Matthew Embry, a freshman at Western Kentucky University, is looking to major in Sports Management. Whenever I was a senior in high school, we played on the same sports team. Throughout my senior year, I helped him with his Algebra 1 class. When I would help him after a practice, I could tell he struggled with the material. As a mathematics major, I have taken numerous math courses. By teaching him a lesson dealing with football, Matthew was able
Trujillo, K. M., Tracing the Roots of Mathematics Anxiety through In-Depth Interviews with Preservice Elementary Teachers http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FCR/is_2_33/ai_62839422 [accessed July 2007]
Reys, R., Lindquist, M. Lambdin, D., Smith, N., and Suydam, M. (2001). Helping Children Learn Mathematics. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
middle of paper ... ... Barr, C., Doyle, M., Clifford, J., De Leo, T., Dubeau, C. (2003). "There is More to Math: A Framework for Learning and Math Instruction” Waterloo Catholic District School Board Burris, A.C. "How Children Learn Mathematics." Education.com.
Reys, R., Lindquist, M., Lambdin, D., Smith, N., & Suydam, M. (2001). Helping children learn mathematics. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
In the 1980’s a report called “A Nation At Risk” stated that American children had fallen behind in such subjects as math and science. Thus came the advent of education’s increased focus on literacy and numeracy, accountability and academic standards. These high standards, according to Dumas (2000), are the most significant trend in schools today.
This assignment will distinguish the relationships between teaching practice, children’s mathematical development and errors and misconceptions. Hansen explains how “children construct their own knowledge and understanding, and we should not see mathematics as something that is taught but rather something that is learnt” (A, Hansen, 2005). Therefore, how does learning relate to errors and misconceptions in the class room, can they be minimised and is it desirable to plan lessons that avoid/hide them? Research within this subject area has highlighted specific related topics of interest such as, the use of dialogue in the classroom, the unique child and various relevant theories which will be discussed in more depth. The purpose of this
Wu, Y. (2008). Experimental Study on Effect of Different Mathematical Teaching Methodologies on Students’ Performance. Journal of Mathematics Studies. Vol 1(1) 164-171.
My enthusiasm and the strongly committed teachers I have encountered in my life have attributed to my success in math and science. Prior to going onto ninth grade, my Math classes dating back from middle school were never mentally straining. Math appealed to me because in eighth grade, my math teacher, Dr. Christopher, would encourage her class by recognizing our achievements with small rewards such as candies and ice cream passes during lunch. Her actions sparked my interest in math. I have a natural regard for math and science. By breaking down math problems step by step, I can better understand them. ...
Ward (2005) explores writing and reading as the major literary mediums for learning mathematics, in order for students to be well equipped for things they may see in the real world. The most recent trends in education have teachers and curriculum writers stressed about finding new ways to tie in current events and real-world situations to the subjects being taught in the classroom. Wohlhuter & Quintero (2003) discuss how simply “listening” to mathematics in the classroom has no effect on success in student academics. It’s important to implement mathematical literacy at a very young age. A case study in the article by authors Wohlhuter & Quintero explores a program where mathematics and literacy were implemented together for children all the way through eight years of age. Preservice teachers entered a one week program where lessons were taught to them as if they were teaching the age group it was directed towards. When asked for a definition of mathematics, preservice teachers gave answers such as: something related to numbers, calculations, and estimations. However, no one emphasized how math is in fact extremely dependable on problem-solving, explanations, and logic. All these things have literacy already incorporated into them. According to Wohlhuter and Quintero (2003), the major takeaways from this program, when tested, were that “sorting blocks, dividing a candy bar equally, drawing pictures, or reading cereal boxes, young children are experienced mathematicians, readers, and writers when they enter kindergarten.” These skills are in fact what they need to succeed in the real-world. These strategies have shown to lead to higher success rates for students even after they graduate
Silver, E. A. (1998). Improving Mathematics in Middle School: Lessons from TIMSS and Related Research, US Government Printing Office, Superintendent of Documents, Mail Stop: SSOP, Washington, DC 20402-9328.
...S. and Stepelman, J. (2010). Teaching Secondary Mathematics: Techniques and Enrichment Units. 8th Ed. Merrill Prentice Hall. Upper Saddle River, NJ.
Allowing children to learn mathematics through all facets of development – physical, intellectual, emotional and social - will maximize their exposure to mathematical concepts and problem solving. Additionally, mathematics needs to be integrated into the entire curriculum in a coherent manner that takes into account the relationships and sequences of major mathematical ideas. The curriculum should be developmentally appropriate to the
Devlin believes that mathematics has four faces 1) Mathematics is a way to improve thinking as problem solving. 2) Mathematics is a way of knowing. 3) Mathematics is a way to improve creative medium. 4) Mathematics is applications. (Mann, 2005). Because mathematics has very important role in our life, teaching math in basic education is as important as any other subjects. Students should study math to help them how to solve problems and meet the practical needs such as collect, count, and process the data. Mathematics, moreover, is required students to be capable of following and understanding the future. It also helps students to be able to think creativity, logically, and critically (Happy & Listyani, 2011,
For teachers to be effective in ways that increase students’ academic achievement, teachers must have the competency needed to teach in their respective content areas. For the purposes of this paper, teacher effectiveness and competency will be discussed in terms of a teacher’s ability to improve student’s academic achievement. Teacher competency is associated with the teacher’s readiness to teach their subject. According to the National Research Council (NRC), an estimated 10-20% of math and