Sharing Good Practice
5 Ways to make mathematics lessons unforgettable
By Maarit Rossi
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. The structure of math lessons seems to be very fixed and similar all over the world . What about starting the new concepts in a different way , for example , by giving students some problems related to the new content ? Too often , we tell students new concepts and also their qualities . What has happened to the joy of learning math ? Have we taken it away for no reason ? At the same time , students think that math is boring , meaningless and even frightening .
Today , students hold the impression that memorising math facts and getting the correct answers fast are the things that make you good at Mathematics
Students who believe this often become stressed , causing them to not use their full thinking capacity . Lacking flexible thinking , they get stuck , stop and underachieve .
Students are feeling a disconnection between math and the real world . Classrooms are focused on mastering calculation skills and raw memorisation of math facts . The sad truth is that , often , learning is happening by chance . These are the reasons math is one of the most disliked and even feared school subjects among students .
At the same time , the World Economic Forum states that the skills needed in the workplaces are ; complex problem solving , critical thinking , coordinating with others , cognitive flexibility and creativity . The correct teaching and learning of Mathematics can help to develop these skill , but what do we need to be changed in the content and teaching of math in order for this to become a reality ?
Let ’ s wake up student ’ s interest and love for Math
1. Instead of putting students to sit in rows , begin to vary how students are working : individually , pairs and in groups . Change from a teacher centered method of instruction to a student-centered way of learning . This will broaden the scope for learning . You are giving them a chance to practice their own math language – they can talk , compare and debate the solution to math problems .
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. Use more learning by doing and social learning – teaching and learning methods . We have a huge amount of opportunities to use learning by doing ; modelling , classification , compare & combine , constructions of solids , action tasks , investigations and content creation . Many of these activities allow social learning to take place .
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. All above can be difficult to do if you don ’ t have proper material . Start with real-life connections . In statistics , start with students collecting data from their own life . In the beginning , you can give them a collection of statistics from newspapers . Offer guidance when they are doing questions about themselves and each other ( make sure that axis etc . are being notified ). What is the number of students in the classroom ? How many pets and what kind of pets ? How did you arrive to school today ? What kind of data are they interested in ? Just ask !
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. We can personalise math in so many ways . When students are working in groups , we can give different tasks to the members of the groups depending on their abilities . We can give them different individual tasks or quizzes , investigations , or projects . This can be very rewarding for individuals or even pairs . Students have more time to concentrate on the theme or problem . The teacher can give the themes , or students can choose their own problem . What if dinosaurs were to live among us again ? Draw them in the same scenery as the biggest building in your neighborhood . Investigate the waste management of your family .
Math is fascinating . Let ’ s make it fun again for our students !
18 | Nov - Dec 2016 | | Class Time