A Critique Of Research Conducted By Kathleen Kostos And Eui Kyung Shin

This paper will demonstrate the pre-service teachers’ understanding of mathematical practices as part of the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics. It will address two specific standards for Mathematical Practices, describing the essence of both and providing a description of how teachers facilitate these practices and how students are engaged in the practices.

When the practitioners are planning, they can also ensure that they involve all children no matter what the mathematical ability to allow group learning and supporting one another which Vygotsky (Richard Culatta, 2015) says is how children learn best. Practitioners should plan for an enabling environment that promotes maths by surrounding the children in mathematical concepts and language, to support emergent maths. Practitioners should praise children. Practitioners should support all children’s development to ensure children and school ready and they are developing their emergent

It is crucial to develop in children the ability to tackle problems with initiative and confidence…mathematics has changed from careful rehearsal of standard procedures to a focus on mathematical thinking and communication to prepare them for the world of tomorrow (Anghileri, 2006, p.2).

Van de Walle, J, Karp, K. S. & Bay-Williams, J. M. (2015). Elementary and Middle School Mathematics Teaching Developmentally. (9th ed.). England: Pearson Education Limited.

Every day, mathematics is used in our lives. From playing sports or games to cooking, these activities require the use of mathematical concepts. For young children, mathematical learning opportunities are all around them. Knaus (2013) states that ‘Young children are naturally curious and eager to learn about their surroundings and the world they live in’ (pg.1). Children, young and old, and even adults, learn when they explore, play and investigate. By being actively involved, engaging in activities that are rich, meaningful, self-directed and offer problem solving opportunities, children given the chance to make connections with their world experiences (Yelland, Butler & Diezmann, 1999). As an educator of young children,

Sarama, J., & Clements, D. H. (2006). Mathematics in kindergarten. (61 ed., Vol. 5, p. 38). YC Young Children. Retrieved from http://media.proquest.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/media/pq/classic/doc/1129349361/fmt/pi/rep/NONE?hl=&cit:auth=Sarama, Julie;Clements, Douglas

communicating mathematical thinking orally, visually, and in writing, using everyday language, grade-appropriate mathematical vocabulary, and a variety of representations and conventions

This report is a critique of the research article Using Math Journals to Enhance Second Graders’ Communication of Mathematical Thinking, by Kathleen Kostos and Eui-kyung Shin. This work was an action research study carried out by a second grade teacher. The research problem in this study is addressed by the collection of mixed methods data.

Another idea to improve mathematics performance in elementary level is to encourage the student to link the existing knowledge and the new knowledge effectively while working math problems/examples. A worked example is “a step-by-step demonstration of how to perform a problem” (Clark, Nguyen, & Sweller, 2006, p. 190). This will prepare the students for similar problems in the future as they bridge the connection between the problems and the examples. In many cases, students are encouraged to link the informal ideas with the formal mathematics ideas that are presented by the teacher to be able to solve problems. When students examine their own ideas, they are encouraged to build functional understanding through interaction in the classroom. When students share among themselves on differences and similarities in arithmetic procedures, they construct the relationship between themselves hence making it the foundation for achieving better grades in mathematics. Teachers can also encourage students to learn concepts and skills by solving problems (Mitchell et al 2000). Students do perform successfully after they acquire good conceptual understanding because they develop skills and procedures, which are necessary for their better performance. However, slow learning students should engage in more practice

When educating students, it is essential to their growth, that teachers have the ability to learn and grow with their students. Every child learns, thinks, and comprehends differently; therefore, the same material should be taught in multiple ways. For example, in my Math 106 class, all students solve the same problem, the teacher then has a few students explain and depict the different ways they received the correct answer. When a student has a difficult time explaining their method, Mrs. Graybeal provides encouragement and guidance; thus. Also, students who are having a difficult time solving the problem used one of the methods provided by a peer to help them comprehend and solve the problem. Math 106 teaches future educators the

Standards for Mathematical Practice Kindergarten- Grade 12; Measurement and Data: Work with time and money.

     For this particular study, a survey including 39 closed questions (developed by Alan Schoenfeld in 1989) was used. All items on the survey were in the form of a seven point rating scale, with 1 being “strongly agree” and 7 being “strongly disagree”. The questionnaire was determined to be extremely consistent with an alpha of 0.8468. The survey contained questions associated to student’s perception of what mathematics is and how to do well in it, what mathematics solutions should be, how math problems can be solved, how mathematics is learned, and student motivation. For the first 33 questions, the students were asked to rate them on the seven point scale described above. The last six questions on the survey dealt with grades, gender, and perception of the children’s parent’s attitudes towards mathematics. The researcher also used a two-tail t-test to compare the mathematical perceptions of Chinese and American students. The average of each cateogry in the survey was also compared. As stated above, there were six main categories being compared: what

In today’s society mathematics is a vital part of day-to-day life. No matter what a person is doing at home or at the workplace, he/she is constantly using different mathematics skills to simply function. Then what does this mean for mathematics education? When someone needs to utilize a skill every day then he/she needs a strong background in the skill. Therefore, today’s students need more than a just a working knowledge of mathematics or enough knowledge to pass a test. Today’s students need to understand how mathematics works and how to utilize mathematics skills in the best way possible.

Maths is ubiquitous in our lives, but depending on the learning received as a child it could inspire or frighten. If a child has a negative experience in mathematics, that experience has the ability to affect his/her attitude toward mathematics as an adult. Solso (2009) explains that math has the ability to confuse, frighten, and frustrate learners of all ages; Math also has the ability to inspire, encourage and achieve. Almost all daily activities include some form of mathematical procedure, whether people are aware of it or not. Possessing a solid learning foundation for math is vital to ensure a lifelong understanding of math. This essay will discuss why it is crucial to develop in children the ability to tackle problems with initiative and confidence (Anghileri, 2006, p. 2) and why mathematics has changed from careful rehearsal of standard procedures to a focus on mathematical thinking and communication to prepare them for the world of tomorrow (Anghileri).

Mathematics, like every creation of man, have evolved without really knowing how far you can get with them: the scope of the computer, physics, chemistry, algebra, all are evidence of this. Every aspect of our culture is based in some way or another in Mathematics: language, music, dance, art, sculpture, architecture, biology, daily life. All these areas of measurements and calculations are accurate. Even in nature, everything follows a precise pattern and a precise order: a flower, a shell, a butterfly, day and night, the seasons. All this makes mathematics essential for human life and they can not be limited only to a matter within the school curriculum; here lies the importance of teaching math in a pleasure, enjoyable and understandable way. Mathematics is an aid to the development of the child and should be seen as an aid to life and not as an obstacle in their lifes.