6. How would you convince a fellow teacher that using calculators could be helpful when learning mathematics? As stated by the text, many teachers do not see the importance or value of using calculators in the classroom. Many teachers feel that students’ understanding of basic mathematical skills would suffer with the use of calculators, and personally I have shared these similar feelings about the use of calculators. But the textbook gives several positive rationales for the use of calculators in the classroom. I would use explain these rationales and research to my co-worker who may be hesitate to use calculators in the classroom. One rationale stated in the textbook is that research has proven that the use of calculators does not interfere …show more content…
What factors affect successful problem solving, and what problem-solving strategy might be effective to help students become better math problem solvers? Students with learning disabilities often struggle with problem solving. Many special needs students have difficulty with reading, and thus cannot understand the traditional word problem. Students with learning disabilities often have difficulty the logical reasoning as well. “It is also common that their mathematics education has focused primarily on operations and not on understanding the reasons for operations or even a thorough understanding of the numbers that are involved in operations”, (Sharon Vaughn, 2015, p. 387). The textbook gives several suggestions on effective problem-solving strategies, such as teaching the “big idea”. This means teaching students the big idea or principle, thus aiding the students in applying these big ideas or principles to subordinate concepts. One way that I try to teach the “big idea” in my classroom is to provide real-life examples for students to problem solve. Another teacher strategy that aids in students understand of problem solving is sameness analysis. “The idea is to connect math concepts so that students see the ways in which aspects of mathematical problem solving are the same”, (Sharon Vaughn, 2015, p. 387). Sameness analysis, is one of the strategies that I used often when I taught fourth grade. I always felt that students gained a better understanding word problems, when they could identify the type of word problem they were trying to
...o get attracted by easy and quick ways of learning things. If the technology provides easy and attractive solutions to students, they will get addicted to it and overuse it in ways which can certainly drop the educational standards. Gelernter disagrees with the comment made by a school principle, “Drilling addition and subtraction in an age of calculators is a waste of time.” (279). He revels the bitter truth where American students are not fully prepared for college because they have poorly developed basic skills. In contrast to this reality, he comments, “No wonder Japanese kids blow the pants of American kids in math.” (280). He provides the information from Japanese educator that in Japan, kids are not allowed to use calculators till high school. Due to this, Japanese kids build strong foundation of basic math skills which make them perform well in mathematics.
We as educators must always plan, create, update information, learn new things, observe other teachers, meeting the student where they are. If we don’t take the time out to teach them they will never know. Giving back to our students what was giving to us. The Bible tells us in Deuteronomy 11:19-20 says ”And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and thou risest up”www.biblegateway.com. It’s our duty to teach them everything we know. Even when they don’t want to learn it. We must teach even when we don’t feel like it. They must know. God will hold us accountable for what we have not given them. Our lesson plans must be in order to get them to work, learn and come away with an understanding and skills they need in life to make it. To give our students what they need to go to the next phase or level in their life. We are part of the puzzle. We are the one piece they need to move ahead. Teaching them how to problem solve. “Teachers should provide opportunities for students to be successful in completing tasks they value and see as challenging. Teachers who are intentional about involving students in goal setting and self-assessments will enhance student’s motivation to learn” (McCullough, 2008). We they learn this they will become independent. It’s like reaching their goals and objectives when they get it
Much current work involves identifying the cognitive components (such as memory and attention span) used in problem-solving activities. Researchers also are trying to identify the processes that occur in the transition from one level of thought to the next. Another area of investigation is the cognitive components in reading and arithmetic. It is hoped that this research will lead to improved methods of teaching academic skills and more effective remedial teaching.
I remember how mathematics was incredibly difficult for me and because of this I can relate to the struggles students have with math. For a teacher to be successful they need to create relevance for the students. I understand how to relate the various topics of mathematics to topics of the world, which for most students is difficult to do, For example, I remember at the CREC School I was observing at, there was a student of Bosnian decent who was having trouble understanding how to read a map of the United States. So I showed her a map of Bosnia with the same map key, and we discerned what everything meant (where the capital was, where the ocean was, major port cities were, etc…). She caught on quickly as she already had an understanding of Bosnia and it quickly transferred over to the map of the thirteen colonies. This skill is easily transferrable to mathematics by using relevant, real-world examples of concepts learned by
Rittle-Johnson, B., & Alibali, M. W. (1999). Conceptual and procedural knowledge of mathematics: Does one lead to the other? Journal of Educational Psychology, 91(1), 175-189.
Wu, Y. (2008). Experimental Study on Effect of Different Mathematical Teaching Methodologies on Students’ Performance. Journal of Mathematics Studies. Vol 1(1) 164-171.
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.
Breaking down tasks into smaller, easier steps can be an effective way to teach a classroom of students with a variety of skills and needs. In breaking down the learning process, it allows students to learn at equal pace. This technique can also act as a helpful method for the teacher to analyze and understand the varying needs of the students in the classroom. When teaching or introducing a new math lesson, a teacher might first use the most basic aspects of the lesson to begin the teaching process (i.e. teach stu...
In order to be an effective teacher there needs to be an understanding that we all learn differently, this means that no single teaching strategy is effective for all students/learners all the time. This makes teaching a complex process because you need to understand and meet the requirements of all of your learners. Students learn best when they aren’t asked to simply memorise information but when they form their own understandings of what is being taught. When a student has successfully learnt a new idea they are able to then intergrate this information with their previously learnt information and make sense of it. To be an effective teacher you need to work jointly with students to asses where they are at, be able to give feedback on how the student is going and ensure that they are understanding the lesson (Killen, 2013) According to Lovat and Smith (2003) students learning must result in a change in a student’s understanding of the information being taught. In order to show understanding they must be able to share this information with others and want to learn more (Killen, 2013). In order to have a deeper understanding of what is being taught they need to be aware of the relationship that exists between what they knew previously and the new information that is being learned (Killen, 2013).. Students need to be given goals that they can achieve in order to feel a sense of mastery over their own learning, this gives students motivation that they are able to complete tasks and to keep going.
Sherley, B., Clark, M. & Higgins, J. (2008) School readiness: what do teachers expect of children in mathematics on school entry?, in Goos, M., Brown, R. & Makar, K. (eds.) Mathematics education research: navigating: proceedings of the 31st annual conference of the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australia, Brisbane, Qld: MERGA INC., pp.461-465.
Overall, calculators should only be used when it is necessary. Many people think that calculators is not a problem; however, they never really took the time to look at it. With this new generation of technology, teachers will have to limit the use of calculators. If not then, students will learn to depend more on calculators instead of their own human brain. If this problem is not fixed, soon everyone will depend on technology and forget the method of actually trying to do it on their own. So students should not be allowed to use the calculator until they tried their best to figure out the question or only use it when necessary.
Many students view mathematics as a very difficult subject since it does not only focusses on numbers but also in letters. Mathematics does not only require the students to come up with an answer but it also requires them to show the solutions on how they arrived at the answer. While in elementary, students were already taught on how to solve problems in a step-by-step procedure starting with what is asked in the problem, what are the given, make a number sentence or formulate an equation and solve the problem. These procedures are called problem-solving which cannot only apply in mathematics but also in other areas such as in Science, businesses and most
After viewing the video by Wolfram (2010), I believe that as teachers we need to prepare more for using computers. Most of my students have a smartphone. And they use it for almost everything, including using the calculator. “Using new technologies involves time, effort, and a rethinking of instructional approaches.” (Sousa. 2015, p. 129). I learned math in a paper, and I love it, but I feel that today that is not enough for our students. Our students get bored about doing calculation the whole time on a piece of paper. Wolfram (2010) questioned, “Do we really believe that the math that most people are doing in school practically today is more than applying procedures to problems they don 't really understand, for reasons they don 't get?”
As with every academic subject, there are a variety of strategies for teaching mathematics to school-aged students. Some strategies seem to be better than others, especially when tackling certain topics. There is the direct instruction approach where students are given the exact tools and formulas they need to solve a problem, sometimes without a clear explanation as to why. The student is told to do certain steps in a certain order and in turn expects to do them as such at all times. This leaves little room for solving varying types of problems. It can also lead to misconceptions and students may not gain the full understanding that their teachers want them to have. So how can mathematics teachers get their students to better understand the concepts that are being taught?
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