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Importance of teaching mathematics using guided discovery method
Significance of mathematics in school
The importance of math education
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Mathematic is one of the significant concepts in life that people dealt with in everyday living. In fact, most people did not recognize it. Teaching mathematic is not easy, in reality, most students hate math apart from other subjects. Most students say that it is very difficult and contains a lot of calculations and using of formulas. In fact, it is all about how to teach it and what teaching approach to use in order to attract the interest of the learners and how the approach can broaden and widen the learners learning abilities. Therefore the intention of this essay is to discuss the role that discovery and direct teaching approach plays in teaching of mathematics in the classroom.
Discovery teaching approach is a very effective teachings approach that was mostly used in teaching mathematics. It simply means that, children were given problems and they have to conduct their own research and experiments using formulas and equations in order to find their findings according to a given subject. In this situation, students have to use their prior knowledge in order to solve the problems. Discovery approach is a very interesting concept; it captured the interest of individuals in finding solutions in order to satisfy them. According to Borthick & Jones (2000) they explained that, in discovery learning, participants learn to recognise a problem, characterize what a solution would look like, search for relevant information, develop a solution strategy, and execute the chosen strategy.
Discovery teaching approach is very beneficial in teaching mathematics. It is one of the teaching methods most teachers are using as one of their teaching strategies. They discovered that it contributes a lot in developing their cognitive skills, engaged...
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...ute his or her personal interest on how to convey the subject. It is efficient and useful when there is not enough resources for students to work individually.
In conclusion, mathematics is a very important subject that can be taught using both of the teaching approach mentioned earlier. In fact, both teaching approaches discussed are good for teaching mathematics. The very important thing that teachers have to consider is how to prepare them before conducting themselves in either each of the teaching approaches. Both teaching approaches have their own strengths and weaknesses which teachers can consider in order to make a change in children’s learning abilities. Children’s learning is in their hands, so it is best that teachers have to master the skills of teaching each concept so that they will be able to tackle any challenges that might occur in their teaching.
Since the implementation of the Numeracy Strategy, a maths lesson should occur on a daily basis in every class from reception to year six. According to the Framework of the Strategy, each lesson should last for about forty minutes in Key Stage 1 and fifty to sixty minutes in Key Stage 2. The lesson should consist of as much time as possible in direct teaching and questioning of the whole class. The focus for teaching should be high-quality direct teaching, rather than drill and practice lecturing, asking children questions and encouraging them to share their answers and methods with the whole class. Greater emphasis is placed on effective teaching by the teacher, rather than children learning by themselves from exercise books.
The key aspect of teaching is engaging the students. I can testify that I learn best when the teacher is involving me, as well as others, in the assignment. Making the material personal is a useful skill and helps the students learn at a faster rate.
The article “Tying It All Together” by Jennifer M. Suh examines several practices that help students to develop mathematical proficiency. It began with a mathematics teacher explaining that her students began the year struggling to understand basic mathematics concepts, but after implementing the following practices into the classroom throughout the year, the students began to enjoy mathematics and have a better understanding of math concepts.
Mathematics has become a very large part of society today. From the moment children learn the basic principles of math to the day those children become working members of society, everyone has used mathematics at one point in their life. The crucial time for learning mathematics is during the childhood years when the concepts and principles of mathematics can be processed more easily. However, this time in life is also when the point in a person’s life where information has to be broken down to the very basics, as children don’t have an advanced capacity to understand as adults do. Mathematics, an essential subject, must be taught in such a way that children can understand and remember.
In a classroom, the class is a single unit, and teachers teach to the class’s needs, rather than to each individual students’ needs. I enjoy being able to work individually with students in order to cater my teaching toward each one’s specific needs so that I can instill them with passion for each subject.
I also learned that mathematics was more than merely an intellectual activity: it was a necessary tool for getting a grip on all sorts of problems in science and engineering. Without mathematics there is no progress. However, mathematics could also show its nasty face during periods in which problems that seemed so simple at first sight refused to be solved for a long time. Every math student will recognize these periods of frustration and helplessness.
What is the most effective way to teach? Can students really learn and fully understand the material teachers convey to them on a day to day basis? According to a middle school mathematics teacher, his methods of teaching the traditional way was not as effective and producing a long-term impact as he would have liked. The article "Never Say Anything a Kid Can Say!" enriches us to the possibility of applying slight gradual modifications to our teaching methods and how we could find ways to utilize that information in the search for more effective teaching methods to encourage students to explain their thinking and become more deeply involved in the classroom discussions, thus developing their questioning skills (Reinhart, 2000). After analyzing his research, I can say as an aspiring Mathematics teacher myself, there are some positive aspects to his newfound teaching methods, as well as some questions of concern that I have pertaining the longevity of this approach to teaching.
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...
Kirova, A., & Bhargava, A. (2002). Learning to guide preschool children's mathematical understanding: A teacher's professional growth. 4 (1), Retrieved from http://ecrp.uiuc.edu/v4n1/kirova.html
As a secondary subject, society often views mathematics a critical subject for students to learn in order to be successful. Often times, mathematics serves as a gatekeeper for higher learning and certain specific careers. Since the times of Plato, “mathematics was virtually the first thing everyone has to learn…common to all arts, science, and forms of thought” (Stinson, 2004). Plato argued that all students should learn arithmetic; the advanced mathematics was reserved for those that would serve as the “philosopher guardians” of the city (Stinson, 2004). By the 1900s in the United States, mathematics found itself as a cornerstone of curriculum for students. National reports throughout the 20th Century solidified the importance of mathematics in the success of our nation and its students (Stinson, 2004). As a mathematics teacher, my role to educate all students in mathematics is an important one. My personal philosophy of mathematics education – including the optimal learning environment and best practices teaching strategies – motivates my teaching strategies in my personal classroom.
To the students, the result of this study can help them be aware of their own difficulties and serve as their guide to have a better result in solving mathematical problems.
A somewhat underused strategy for teaching mathematics is that of guided discovery. With this strategy, the student arrives at an understanding of a new mathematical concept on his or her own. An activity is given in which "students sequentially uncover layers of mathematical information one step at a time and learn new mathematics" (Gerver & Sgroi, 2003). This way, instead of simply being told the procedure for solving a problem, the student can develop the steps mainly on his own with only a little guidance from the teacher.
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,
The Nature of Mathematics Mathematics relies on both logic and creativity, and it is pursued both for a variety of practical purposes and for its basic interest. The essence of mathematics lies in its beauty and its intellectual challenge. This essay is divided into three sections, which are patterns and relationships, mathematics, science and technology and mathematical inquiry. Firstly, Mathematics is the science of patterns and relationships. As a theoretical order, mathematics explores the possible relationships among abstractions without concern for whether those abstractions have counterparts in the real world.