Disadvantages Of Mathematics Manipulative

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.

Algebra is a critical aspect of mathematics which provides the means to calculate unknown values. According to Bednarz, Kieran and Lee (as cited in Chick & Harris, 2007), there are three basic concepts of simple algebra: the generalisation of patterns, the understanding of numerical laws and functional situations. The understanding of these concepts by children will have an enormous bearing on their future mathematical capacity. However, conveying these algebraic concepts to children can be difficult due to the abstract symbolic nature of the math that will initially be foreign to the children. Furthermore, each child’s ability to recall learned numerical laws is vital to their proficiency in problem solving and mathematical confidence. It is obvious that teaching algebra is not a simple task. Therefore, the importance of quality early exposure to fundamental algebraic concepts is of significant importance to allow all

Math uses a specialized vocabulary that can only be learned in school. Words in math can mean one thing and have a completely different meaning in everyday conversation. It takes English Language Learners (ELLs) about two years to learn social (everyday) language, but math language takes about five to seven years to learn. ELL students not only have to translate between English and their native language, but also between social and academic language (Janzen, 2008; Slavit & Ernst-Slavit, 2007). In math, we use language to explain concepts and to carry out the procedures, so it is critical to have an understanding of the vocabulary in order to comprehend those concepts. If students do not fully grasp the vocabulary in the problem, then they are at an obvious disadvantage. ELLs may understand the content of the lesson, but inexperience with the language can hold them back from expressing what they know. When students are learning to talk math, it is essential to make the lesson comprehensible for the students, but also to make sure that the students have the vocabulary needed to understand the instruction. It is important for students to not only be able to understand the vocabulary used in the lesson, but also to be able to apply that vocabulary in conversation (Bresser, Melanese &Sphar,

How are your lessons designed for student learning of mathematical concepts, procedures/algorithms, and mental math strategies through problem solving?

Upon observing your class, we have learned a lot about the methods you utilize in order to help the students with mathematics and about how the students learn. Observing your class was both an honor and a learning opportunity for us, as you are an important, and well-respected faculty member in the school system. However, while we appreciate your goals and tactics to make learning mathematics easier for the students, we have discovered some flaws in the use of mnemonics, rules, and tricks for helping students understand the subject material.

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

The Case of Randy Harris describes the lesson of a middle school mathematics teacher, and how he uses diagrams, questions, and other methods to guide his students to a better understanding. Throughout his case study, Harris’ methods could be easily compared to that of the Effective Mathematics Teaching Practices. There are eight mathematical teaching practices that support student learning, most of which are performed throughout Randy Harris’ lesson. Harris didn’t perform each teaching practice perfectly, despite doing the majority of them throughout his lessons. The following are examples of how Randy Harris implemented the eight mathematical teaching practices into his lesson, and how the ones that were neglected should have been

The teachers coached to manipulate a variety or objects such as; spoons, tweezers, and tongs. The experimental group will outperform the control group during the posttesing.

I believe that mathematics should be taught using manipulatives, visual representation, and concrete materials so students can easily understand the mathematical concept being taught. For instance, John A. Van De Walle, and the National Council of teachers of mathematics, states that using manipulatives, models, visual representation, and concrete materials, enriches the students’ knowledge. In addition, the students are able to express those mathematical ideas and make relationships between them. I feel that sometimes teachers forget how valuable manipulatives are in a mathematical classroom. In field, every time I go into the math classroom, I see students working with manipulatives to understand a mathematical concept. The students have fun while working with those pattern blocks, fraction bars, base 10 blocks, and many more, while learning about math. I also believe that one as teachers, have to allow students to explore with the manipulatives let them figure out any pattern seen when completing a task. I as an educator do not want to dictate to my students what to do when working with the different models/manipulatives, to get to an answer. I rather let them figure out the answer themselves and find any common patters they see when solving a certain problem. Stein, actually believes that telling students what to do does not allow the students to think or understand the concept. The students will probably get the answer right when working with the manipulatives, but will

When teaching mathematical concepts it is important to look at the big ideas that will follow in order to prevent misconceptions and slower transformation

Math manipulatives can have a positive effect on the learning experience of a child. These manipulatives can help students maintain focus and develop a stronger overall understanding of mathematics (Florence). Students respond well to the addition of hands-on activities versus a strictly traditional lecture method of learning. The sense of touch and handling of objects kinesthetically kindles the interest and imagination of the students and assists in building understanding and beyond drill and stimulus-response method used.

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.

Mathematics is the one of the most important subjects in our daily life and in most human activities the knowledge of mathematics is important. In the rapidly changing world and in the era of technology, mathematics plays an essential role. To understand the mechanized world and match with the newly developing information technology knowledge in mathematics is vital. Mathematics is the mother of all sciences. Without the knowledge of mathematics, nothing is possible in the world. The world cannot progress without mathematics. Mathematics fulfills most of the human needs related to diverse aspects of everyday life. Mathematics has been accepted as significant element of formal education from ancient period to the present day. Mathematics has a very important role in the classroom not only because of the relevance of the syllabus material, but because of the reasoning processes the student can develop.