Mathematics is a vital component of the education system. Children should not only learn to read fluently and comprehend books. Children should be taught to manipulate mathematical facts in a fluent manner as well as think critically about mathematics. For students to be able to compete in today’s and tomorrow’s economy, they need to be able to adapt the knowledge they are acquiring. They need to learn new concepts and skills to apply mathematical reasoning to problems (National Research Council, 2001). As students gain an understanding of mathematics, they engage in problem-solving situations enhance their rational thinking skills. Teachers ought to provide learning opportunities that allow students to explore, identify, and create viable …show more content…
In addition, I insist that students become describers of concepts and their thinking. Therefore, I implement an array of writing activities for students to explain the process they use to solve problems. According to Cuoco, Goldenberg, & Mark, (1996), students should be able to manipulate patterns and provide a sound explanation of the mathematical steps that they apply as they become independent learners. The practices presented above can help my students develop as rational thinkers.
Improving learning demands changes in my teaching practices. Teachers should be on an interminable mission to learn and create new strategies to facilitate instruction. During this course, I learned new strategies that can help me improve mathematical concepts in the classroom. One strategy that I implemented recently was the missing factor puzzles. The puzzles are engaging my students with fun challenges that they enjoy. Factor puzzles increase students’ mathematical fluency and flexibility with multiplication (Laureate Education, 2013). Currently, I am exposing students to the puzzles as a way to build mathematical fluency. In my classroom, I have assigned a few minutes of math time to build mathematical fluency. It is during this time that students are presented with the puzzle and then discuss the solutions with partners. Another strategy that is current
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).
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.
Mathematics is considered a science that manipulates symbols according to given rules or instructions which can also be considered the science of numbers. My belief is that being literate in mathematics is crucial in this world because I consider math to be the base to explain various quantitative disciplines in fields such as finance, physics, biology, economics and chemistry. Moreover, I have always had a positive attitude while solving mathematical problems because there are so many different ways we can solve a problem such as constructing a graph, an equation, or preparing statistics. As a child PBL was implemented gradually and I believe it should slowly be introduced through the years to make teaching and learning more memorable for the students. Some students believe they were born being incompetent in math; however, I believe that no one was born being bad at math, they just believe so and as teachers we must motivate those who are in denial to improve their mathematical skills in order to prevent poor academic performance and develop their cognitive skills. Being a senior in UTRGV and studying math for more than sixteen years reflects my positive attitude in regard to this subject. Mathematics has influenced my life positively by allowing me to study a STEM field degree that will open various opportunities for me.
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.
Reason abstractly and quantitatively- It’s important that students are able to pause during solving the problem and continue to analyze, reflect and strategize for the solution as needed.
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,
The author explains how many students, especially those in the focused-upon second grade class, have difficulty explaining their “mathematical thinking process”. While they may provide correct answers using memorized calculations, they are unable to demonstrate their conceptual understandings or explain how they achieved the right results. As stated by the researcher, “it is important for students to be able to demonstrate their mathematical thinking as well as their method of solving a problem” (Kostos & Shin, 2010, p.223).
The NAEYC affirm that high-quality, challenging and accessible mathematics education for 3-6 year old children are a vital foundation for future mathematics learning. The first few years of a child’s life in development is important because teachers are individuals who play the key role to help children learn, grow and succeed in education. NAEYC and NCTM feel that young learner’s future understanding of mathematic requires an early foundation on a high quality, challenging, and accessible mathematic education. They feel children’s learning within the first couple of years of life demonstrate the importance of early experiences in mathematics also children start to engage in early encounters of mathematics developing their confidence in their
The Festival problems are designed to inspire students to explore the richness and beauty of mathematics through activities that encourage collaborative, creative problem-solving. They offer diverse entry points — arithmetic, hands-on puzzles, card tricks, patterns, coloring — so that students can wander around the festival and find an activity that grabs their attention. Sample problem sets can be found online at
Multiplicative thinking, fractions and decimals are important aspects of mathematics required for a deep conceptual understanding. The following portfolio will discuss the key ideas of each and the strategies to enable positive teaching. It will highlight certain difficulties and misconceptions that children face and discuss resources and activities to help alleviate these. It will also acknowledge the connections between the areas of mathematics and discuss the need for succinct teaching instead of an isolated approach.
Teaching students effectively in areas of multiplicative thinking, fractions and decimals requires teachers to have a true understanding of the concepts and best ways to develop students understanding. It is also vital that teachers understand the importance of conceptual understanding and the success this often provides for many students opposed to just being taught the procedures (Reys et al., ch. 12.1). It will be further looked at the important factors to remember when developing a solid conceptual understanding and connection to multiplicative thinking, fractions and decimals.
As educators and as students it is pivotal to emphasize the importance of reasoning and proof in the classroom. By doing such, students will develop a higher level of thinking not only in the classroom but in the real world as well. In secondary education, it is only a short period of time until students are faced with complex thinking that is not specific to any textbook. In education specifically students will have to approach problems in different directions. This is something that takes a bit of adjusting to if that student is not previously exposed to reasoning and proofs.
In 21st century classrooms, an educators teaching practice is vital in developing student’s mathematical knowledge. A constructivist approach is required to allow students to use their prior knowledge to make sense of new information through hands-on activities. To effectively equip students with the necessary skills to see connections in mathematic concepts, Big Ideas must be employed by educators. The Australian Curriculum supports the use of Big Ideas to deepen students understanding of mathematical content.
Mathematics has become part of our life. Graph Theory is a branch of mathematics that plays a major role in every field of human being. In this paper we define different matrices associated with the Graphs along with some properties of a graph. And Rank of rank of an incidence matrix.