As parents, do you have difficulty getting your children to
love and enjoy Mathematics? I belong to the old school method of learning Math.
The teacher teaches, we will listen, imitate the ways of solving the problem
and try to achieve the 'standard' set of correct answers the teacher has. If
the answers are wrong, we lose marks. Mathematics to me is like an error made,
will cause me my opportunity to pass the subject. That is why I have never
enjoyed it. I feared it to be exact.
Cultivating the Love for Mathematics
As an educator myself, I do not wish the children under my
charges experience Math this way. Then, how can we get children to say
"Mathematics, we're loving it!"?
The key is to have a positive attitude to influence them. Children
have to be given the opportunity to explore, apply and learn from mistakes
through reflection. They will also understand that a productive struggle is
part of the process of problem solving. In this way, children internalise
concepts by making connections with previous knowledge, persisting through
productive struggles, sharing of ideas through active discussions, trial and
error as well as assimilation.
The role of the Teacher
Teachers need to challenge children with interesting problems
so that they could provide explanations and justify their own learning. Teachers
can also ask questions to stimulate children’s thinking and help scaffold their
learning process.
In conclusion, I feel that teachers should walk out from the shadows of the traditional methods of teaching mathematics by giving children the opportunity to investigate, discover, reflect and learn from errors.
