3.1. The Mathematics Teacher
A
whole lot of difference in the teaching and learning of mathematics can
however be made by the mathematics teacher. A committed teacher of
mathematics can surely turn around the sad story of mathematics learning
in schools for the better. Usually, people point to a mathematics
teacher they had at one stage or the other of their educational career
as their reason for losing interest in mathematics. It therefore goes to
prove that mathematics teachers can ‘do’ and ‘undo’ in the learning of
mathematics. A dedicated mathematics teacher should be able to lift
his/her students to the level they would begin to appreciate
mathematics, its beauty and its application so that students’ attitude
towards the subject would begin to change and their performance in the
subject consequently would also improve.
However, the problem is that many people have the erroneous notion
that anybody can be a teacher. Well, anyone can actually teach but not
everyone can teach well. There are certain qualities a mathematics
teacher must possess and certain strategies he/she must adopt if he/she
wants to succeed. Some of these qualities include:
3.1.1. Mastery of Subject Matter:
A mathematics teacher
must acquire during training a good knowledge of the subject matter
since no one can give what he/she does not have. This is very important
for both primary and secondary mathematics teachers. That way such a
teacher would be able to direct the students more competently and
confidently. He/she can as well be able to simplify tasks for students
and would be in a better position to present facts from different
angles. A display of subject incompetence by a mathematics teacher
causes the students to lose confidence first in the teacher and then in
the subject.
3.1.2. Building Students’ Confidence:
A mathematics teacher should be able to build the confidence of his/her students. According to ,
confidence begets attention which begets rich learning. Many students
do not trust their ability in mathematics and this is where their
problem begins. The teacher should therefore be able to convince them
that they can do well in the subject. One way to build students’
confidence is to provide them with challenging but attainable tasks and
help them to make progress. The teacher should also applaud students’
little efforts and should have positive expectations of each of them at
all times.
3.1.3. Good Sense of Humor:
A Mathematics teacher that
wants his/her students to succeed must have good sense of humour.
Students do not learn much by sitting still and looking frightened. They
learn better in a relaxed atmosphere and when the learning experiences
are pleasurable ones. In fact, students really like a teacher who can
douse tension and make classroom activities interesting and enjoyable
3.1.4. Encouraging Discussion:
In a typical mathematics
class, most talk comes from the teacher and seldom from the students.
The students only pay attention or pretend to do so, copy notes,
practice what the teacher has demonstrated, and then work individually
to solve problems. None of these makes learning exciting and adventurous
for students than conscientious argument and discussion. Argument in
search of facts is the real meaning of the mathematical process. It can
be learned only by doing and not by listening. So, communication with
peers or teamwork is a very effective way of learning mathematics and
must be encouraged. A mathematics teacher must therefore allow students
talk with themselves in class and also freely talk with him/her as well
3.1.5. Diversification of Learning Experiences:
People say:
Monotony kills interest, Variety is the spice of life’.
Psychologically, children (and even adults) have limited attention span
and can easily lose interest after a certain period of time and turn
attention to something else. Good mathematics teachers vary learning
experiences and teaching behavior during a classroom session to generate
and sustain students’ interest. They are lively, dramatic and
demonstrative as against sedentary teachers who are inactive and make
their lessons dull.
3.1.6. Use of Effective Methods of Teaching:
Based on past
experiences of generations of teachers and of psychological analysis of
intellectual processes and also based on research results, there abound a
number of fairly unwavering teaching methods that mathematics teachers
can use for effective instruction. However, it has been widely accepted
that there is no ‘best method’ of teaching. A successful teacher
especially of mathematics must therefore of necessity use several
methods in one lesson. Various methodologies used in mathematics
teaching include.
• Play-Way Method
• Project Method
• Demonstration Method
• Discovery Method
• Guided inquiry Method
• Problem Solving Method
• Laboratory Method
• Cooperative Learning Strategy
• Individualized Instruction
• Team Teaching
• Target Task Approach
• Computer Assisted Instruction
• Multiple Intelligences Teaching Approach
3.1.7. Use of Instructional Resources
Instructional
resources are those resources (human and material) that are used to
stimulate and maintain students’ interest in mathematics learning as
well as facilitate their understanding of mathematical topics. They help
in the formation of concepts in students’ minds. Mere telling without
exposing the learners to the concrete materials does not enhance
learning. A creative teacher therefore needs to know what materials are
available or can be provided to enrich the teaching and learning of
mathematical concepts.
3.1.8. Set Induction
Set induction is any pre-planned
action of the teacher to arouse the interest of the students before a
lesson. It is a way to motivate the learners and get them mentally set
for a lesson. People say: Well begun is half done. Studies have shown
that the activities preceding a learning task influence the performance
of the task .
It is therefore vitally important to carefully plan the set induction
of a mathematics lesson. There are innumerable possible approaches to it
and every teacher is free to determine his/her own approach. However,
the following approaches can be adopted singly or in combination to set
induct students in a mathematics class:
• Opening of some bizarre packet
• A short story- True life or Fictional
• Dramatization
• Demonstration with an apparatus or tool
• An unusual behavior
• Use of creative questions
• Reference to a past experience of the students
• Inviting an expert in a field to class
• Some quick rearrangement of the class
• Specification of the instructional objectives of a lesson, etc.
3.2. Best Practices for Mathematics Instruction
A best practice
is a way of doing something that produces the desired results. In the
teaching of mathematics, a best practice is a teaching strategy or a way
of organizing lessons that boosts students’ understanding of
mathematical concepts. Mathematics educators agree that to effectively teach Mathematics, teachers need to:
3.2.1. Introduce Each Lesson by Relating Its Content to Students’ Lives
Relating
mathematical contents to real life situations help students see
mathematics as a way of solving their life problems and so a thing that
deeply concerns them. Therefore, students should be led to see how what
they are to learn directly applies to their lives. Word problems
should be constructed based on the immediate environment of the learners
and the activities that happen around them. Names used should be common
names found within the society.
3.2.2. Break Procedures Down into Minute steps
Breaking
Mathematical tasks down into steps and letting students learn each task
step by step makes it easier for the students to understand better and
enables a teacher find out specific points where students are having
difficulty and may need help. According to Mighton in ,
no step is too small to ignore since mathematics is like a ladder that
if one misses one step, he/she may not be able to go on.
3.2.3. Teach with Songs, Games and Drama, and Permit Flexibility in How and Where Students Learn
Many
mathematical concepts can be taught with songs and games and many
others can be dramatized in class and students enjoy it all. Topics like
Numbers, Locus, Areas, Volumes, etc fit into this group. This way, all
students would be lured to learn and to remain involved in what they are
being taught. Moreover, a good mathematics teacher must always come up
with other ways of presenting lessons and the students must not be
confined to a particular place to learn.
3.2.4. Lead Students to Derive Rules and Not Memorize Them
The
problem many students have with Mathematics is that there are many
rules to be memorized. Rules should not be memorized. Rather, students
should be led to derive the rules. That way, they will always remember
them.
3.2.5. Use Models, Pictures, Drawings, Graphics and Charts in explaining Mathematical concepts and relations
Some
individuals feel very uneasy with the study of mathematics simply
because they cannot digest facts and figures in written form. Gardner in
noted that some people’s strength intelligence is Visual-Spatial
intelligence which gives them the unique ability to think in images and
pictures and to visualize accurately and abstractly. For such people,
pictorial presentation of information is the only easy and interesting
way to comprehend any information or task. This view was corroborated by
who stated that visual evidence not only stimulates interest, but helps
to build mathematical meaning. It also, they noted, promotes and
supports the classroom spirit of inquiry and problem solving.
4. Conclusion
Mathematics is not a subject
to be toyed with by any individual that wants to be productive or any
nation that strives for scientific/technological development . Nigerian children’s poor achievement in the subject as evidenced in the analysis presented by and is indeed worrisome just as it is for many other African countries .
This therefore calls for immediate action or the country would be
trailing behind many others scientifically and technologically for not
adequately equipping its citizens with mathematical knowledge and
skills.
pointed out the necessity of transforming mathematics lessons from
teacher-centred to learner-centred and the need to make mathematics
learning meaningful for the students. Children in Nigerian primary and
secondary schools if properly guided to discover the beauty of
mathematics can learn mathematical concepts with maximum understanding.
The problem however is that very early in their school lives, many
children get the impression that mathematics is an abstract and
difficult subject reserved for a selected few with ‘magic’ brain as
confirmed by , and as far as the children are concerned, no one has been able to disprove this.
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