Mathematics has been viewed as a very important aspect in understanding
the world because it is a systematic application of matter. It can be defined as the
power of a person to concretize a mathematical idea in myriad ways and to make
linkages among various representations. Specific qualities that are nurtured by
Mathematics are the ability to reason out, create, think abstractly and spatially,
solve problems and even nurture the power to communicate effectively.
Mathematical ideas become concrete when people can express them exactly as how
it is conceived in the mind. Communication needs that the abstraction of ideas be
external, taking from spoken language, written symbols, drawings or real objects
(Ashcraft, 1982; Greeno,
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Society and groups should
be educated on the need to support mother tongue initiatives in the teaching of
mathematics. Mother tongue in the teaching of Mathematics should be extended to
post primary and tertiary institution so as to increase the numbers of mathematics
learners in schools .
On the other hand, according to Mashegoane (2016), the inability of
hundreds of languages around the world who do not have direct translations of
core scientific and mathematical terms is a hindrance for students to face the real
world, and apply their knowledge, resulting in them being globally incompetent.
The obstacle is the absence of certain terminology in many languages compared to
English. The underlying implication is that it is the language barrier preventing
students from excelling in Math and Science. It is sickening that learners who need
to be taught of English, Mathematics and Science but these subjects are introduced
in Grade IV where the learners have to switch to Math in English; even when many
of them have not yet mastered basic numbers, addition and subtraction, even
She continues by expressing her fascination with the “power of language”, relaying the degree of her expertise. In addition, an appeal to logos provides statistics and facts. She writes, “Some say they understand 80 to 90 percent” (701), referring to the clarity of her mother’s speech. Moreover, she adds, “But I have noticed in surveys... Asian students, as a whole, always do significantly better on math achievement tests than in English” (703-704).
He begins by stating that many people assume that Asian students have an “innate proclivity for math” because Asian countries “have substantially outperformed their Western counterparts” in international mathematic exams (230). But in reality, Gladwell proved that Asian countries actually have a cultural advantage in the subject due to their number system. Most numbers in Chinese “can be uttered in less than a quarter of a second” while English numbers take a third. This difference allows Chinese children to memorize and count at an earlier age, leaving Western children a year behind at age five. Similarly, Gladwell cited Chinese culture of hardwork growing rice paddies as a reason for mathematic success.
Those students’ scores are drastically lower than English speaking students. A study by the National Center for Education Statistics found that three out of four 8th graders are not able to pass a simple math test that includes
The language will continue to hurt students and distract them from their learning if measures are not
The math and science is precise and the English a judge call. She also notices the survey indicate that Asian students always do significantly better on math achievement tests than in English. Her exprience and the survey illustrate her ideal that her limitation in English due to the ‘broken English’ environment that she grow up with. She believed that her mother’s English limited her possibilities in life and affected her results on achievement tests, IQ tests, and the SAT. Those fact persuade the readers to understand her logic, and agree with it eventually.
Raised all my life in Puerto Rico and then transferring to America was a great challenge. I had to overcome various difficulties in order to adapt to new ideas, cultures, and lifestyles. One of the obstacles I encountered was adapting to school. Since I was five my parents wanted me to imbibe the English language in order to have an exceptional future filled with opportunities, but when I arrived all my hard work in learning English did not seem to matter at my middle school. I arrived in this country thinking I was going to be in the most challenging classes and be at the top but reality smacked me in the face the first day I entered eighth grade.
Often enough teachers come into the education field not knowing that what they teach will affect the students in the future. This article is about how these thirteen rules are taught as ‘tricks’ to make math easier for the students in elementary school. What teachers do not remember is these the ‘tricks’ will soon confuse the students as they expand their knowledge. These ‘tricks’ confuse the students because they expire without the students knowing. Not only does the article informs about the rules that expire, but also the mathematical language that soon expire.
The first example he gives demonstrates the ability of math, contrasting Western students and Asian students. The number-naming systems in Western and Asian languages are completely different. The number system in Asia is logical and the words are brief, allowing more numbers to be memorized and recalled. The opposite is true for the system in Western society. This difference allows Asian children to learn numbers much faster than American children.
A person who speaks more than one language is described as being bilingual. According to the United States Department of Education, “about 21% of school-age children speak a language other than English at home,” (Lowry, 2011). As Wayne Thomas and Virginia Collier describe in, “Two Languages are Better Than One,” children who come into school having a first language besides English, tend to struggle. Usually when a child struggles with a particular subject, they are taken out of the main classroom and brought somewhere for a remedial class. But according to Thomas and Collier, in order to help narrow the gap in comprehension, English learners and English speakers need to be kept together in order to be fully enriched in a successful learning
Communicating is also an important part of the language process as it allows children to connect words, actions, pictures and symbols. Such communication helps children to enhance and develop their meaning. The use of manipulatives and meaning are used to assist children to represent concepts whilst allowing knowledge experiences that can be examined, explained and emulated. However some students struggle to find words used to describe a particular situation or words associated with mathematical meanings. Most of the words and names associated with geometry are from the Greek and Latin language, it is beneficial when teaching children the names of different shapes, that it is, introduced slowly so that children don’t become overwhelmed or confused, simple everyday phrases are beneficial until students become fluent in the language associated with
Teaching methods differ in terms of approach which as observed relate more to procedures which influence inner coherence, produce specific educational effects. The traditional approach embodies two, namely: (a) the didactic method, also called the directive or autocratic style, which is based on logo-centrism and an instructor-centred approach. Its focus is the teacher, who explains the logical and practical aspects of the issue or topic; secondly, (b) the dialectic method. In this approach, students are involved in the learning process and are expected to ask questions; thirdly, (c) The heuristic or research method. This method makes students the protagonists of their learning process, since they must find, guided by the instructor, and through research and experimentation, the solutions to the problems.
Some students feel like math is a new language. When students fail to work in a math class they may feel scare and try to ran away math as much as possible in the future. Some math teacher doesn’t know the beauty of math. Many students think that they do not need math in future for example some want to be a footballer but they thought they don’t need math of course even football need math like having angles. Some of the students aren’t patience of wronging so they try to avoid math as much as possible.
Having the knowledge and basic skills of mathematics enables a person to make personal and economic decisions in everyday life. A person can still succeed without achieving
Teaching philosophy is described by Sadker and Sadker as, “Behind every school and every teacher is a set of related beliefs - a philosophy of education – that influences what and how students are taught. A philosophy of education represents answers to questions about the purpose of schooling, a teacher’s role and what should be taught and by what methods.” (Teacher, Schools and Society. 2005). With this definition in consideration, my teaching philosophy is “I believe that children learn best when they are given the chance to choose, discuss and explore what they want to learn, when they want to learn and how they want to learn.
TRADITIONAL TEACHING METHODS TO TEACH WITHN THE CONTEXT OF HIGHER EDUCATION Teaching methods refers to the general principles, pedagogy and management strategies used to classroom instruction. The choice to teaching methods depends on what fits educational philosophy, classroom demographic, subject area and school mission statement. The teaching theories can be arrangement into four categories and based on two major parameters- a teacher centred approach versus and a student –centred approach, and high tech material use versus low-tech material use. TEACHER-CENTRED APPROACH TO LEARNING Taken to its most extreme interpretation, teachers are the main figure in a teacher-centred instruction model.