Collection of Readings/Articles meant to help answer PIP Questions and deliver valuable information, and teaching strategies.
Learning-to-Learn Strategies
- The three strategies essential for initial learning are repetition, elaboration and organization strategies.
Repetition Strategies
- The three strategies essential for initial learning are repetition, elaboration and organization strategies.
Repetition Strategies
- Highlighting class notes
- Re-writing notes, or organizing a sheet of key ideas
- Connect rules or principles to every day activities
- Paraphrasing or summarizing what has been read
- Creation of analogies
- Drawing Mind maps (Process overcomes built in limitations of short term working memory)
Children Who Do Well In School
The nature of this study was to look at 3rd and fourth graders and how their current motivation within the school context, and perceived level of autonomy affected their level of engagement, and confidence in their ability.
Autonomy
- Children who were perceived as autonomous, and being internally motivated displayed the attainment of not only higher grades, but a greater satisfaction with school.
- Students who were externally motivated reported being frustrated, and angry with school. These students were more likely to fake their way through the day.
- It is suggested that perhaps autonomy and motivation vary between subjects. It is proposed that children may view math as a subject in which it is more based off of your inherent ability, whereas other core closes are based off the effort you put in.
Mathematics for LifeLong Learning
This article examined lifelong learning of mathematics in adults at a conference. Even though this study focused on adults lots of the information, and research is easily transferable to the classroom.
- We need to learn how to learn mathematics this isn't to say that they shouldn't learn mathematic skills, but how these skills will and can attribute to their needs, and goals in life.
- When mathematics is broken down into individual skills, and techniques, and the tasks of the teacher defined, math is able to become less mysterious, and both the subject and the role of the teacher can be adopted by the majority.
- Math needs to be contextualized in order that students are able to make a meaningful connection between math, and its real world application. This will allow students to understand the role that math serves in the every day.
Math Wars
This article examines a change in the curriculum of math, and arguments around this change as well as how goals and changes in teaching have emerged with curriculum chance.
Math is an active process not one of memorization and practice. Noting that math is an active process this means that there should be opportunities for:
- Project Work
- Group and individual assignments
- Class discussion both as a whole, and between individuals whether those individuals be teacher, and student, or student and student.
- Practice with mathematical skills, and methods
- Exposition by the teacher
- k-8 mathematics teachers especially should strive to learn more about mathematics throughout their careers
- All students should have basic access to instructual manuals i.e. (Textbooks, handouts, etc.) to take come.
Technology Meets Math Education
This article explores how technology has influenced education, and in particular how technology relates to mathematics. This paper explores the role that computers can have in servicing the goals of mathematics both in attaining knowledge, and expertise in the subject.
Goals of mathematic education
- Support students habits of mind, or in other words there engagement with math, and ability to engage with mathematical proof, and arguments.
- Prepare students for the use of math computational tools
- Nurture a positive attitude towards math that fosters life long learning.
- Empower students to come to the realization that mathematical knowledge doesn't come from their teacher, or textbooks, but it comes as a product of their own thought, and exploration.
What technology can do for you, and more importantly your students
- Look at a subject like geometry the students who are most likely to succeed are those who can visualize how shapes will change, or how corners of a shape will act when moved. While those unable to visualize these movements are left to struggle. With computers we can provide a program that lets students actually see the changes in shapes, and lets them have the power as they have the freedom to manipulate shapes.
- Devices such as calculators can be used to further enrich discussions, and explore new topics. An example of this is through a game noted in the article as the range game. Students are given a number say 24. and have to find a number when multiplied will but this number within the range of 400-600. Students will discover the smallest number that works, and the biggest number the works. And all the numbers in-between. This can prompt a discussion about limits that may have been impossible to do without calculators. Calculators also have been shown to improve students achievement, and lead to more positive associations with math, because of their ability to help students learn, and succeed with such topics.
- Students shouldn't have to work out on paper division problems involving say 5 digit numbers, or finding the square root of a 4 digit number when they have a device. Technology allows the teacher, and the student to focus on the problem solving aspect of math, rather than having to go through and solve questions on paper students can focus on other problems such as understanding factors.
With technology we can not only make math more enjoyable, but we can also take advantage of the opportunity to spend more time focusing on the real problem solving, and learning concepts which will support not only the use of technology but individual understanding.
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STUDENTS’ EXPOSURE TO TECHNOLOGY AND THEIR ACHIEVEMENT IN SCIENCE AND MATH
As the title implies this article expores the relationships with technology and students academic achievement in both science in math, but the focus within this breakdown of the math portion of the article.
Benefits of Technology
Even when computers, or other forms of technology were not being used for mathematic purposes, but rather for entertainment for fun it was found that there was an increase in students mathematical performance. It's shown that when a household lacks a computer, or a television the result can be that a child has a more narrow world view.
Results
The study found that technology had little direct influence on mathematic achievement score. The connections that may exist between mathematic scores would be more indirect reasons. This is to say that the biggest indicator in regards often to lower, or higher mathematic scores relates to students diverse ethnic, and economic background, and those families that are able to have more technology at home may simply have more resources that would indicate a greater likelihood for success.
As the title implies this article expores the relationships with technology and students academic achievement in both science in math, but the focus within this breakdown of the math portion of the article.
Benefits of Technology
- Learn to read and utilize information on computer screens
- Potential to improve visual attention in adolesence
- Students who were using a computer at home for at least an hour a day had better math scores
- Use of technology can decrease the achievement gap among students diverse background
Even when computers, or other forms of technology were not being used for mathematic purposes, but rather for entertainment for fun it was found that there was an increase in students mathematical performance. It's shown that when a household lacks a computer, or a television the result can be that a child has a more narrow world view.
Results
The study found that technology had little direct influence on mathematic achievement score. The connections that may exist between mathematic scores would be more indirect reasons. This is to say that the biggest indicator in regards often to lower, or higher mathematic scores relates to students diverse ethnic, and economic background, and those families that are able to have more technology at home may simply have more resources that would indicate a greater likelihood for success.
Student/Teacher Relations and attitudes towards Mathematics before and after the Transition to Junior High School
This article examined how students mathematical abilities changed as they transition into junior high school and recieved, or felt a lower level of support from their teachers. Students who felt less support saw their math abilities decrease sharply in their first year of junior high.
Findings
This article was especially valuable in being aware of how students perceptions of support will come to affect how they value math, and how you as an person and not just a teacher affect your students.
This article examined how students mathematical abilities changed as they transition into junior high school and recieved, or felt a lower level of support from their teachers. Students who felt less support saw their math abilities decrease sharply in their first year of junior high.
Findings
- Student/Teacher relations deterioated after the transition from elementary to junior high. In particular it was noted that students felt math teachers cared about them less, treated them less friendly, or graded them less fairly than they were treated by their math teachers in elementary.
- Girls have a greater need than boys for affiliation and social contectedness, which has the potential to make them more affect by a lack of support. It is noted that all students as well high achievieing and low achieving are sensative to the characteristics of their teachers. I interpreted this as information as something most critical to be aware of before teaching any course. Teachers have to be aware that they may present the curriculum perfectly, and have a massive toolbox of classroom strategies, but if studnets dont see them as supportive or approachable this has the potential to affect students mathematic abilities.
- Students who see little change in supportiveness between the transition between elementary and junior high typically will experience little change. Students who move from a low support to a high support teacher will have increasingly value math. Students who move from a high support teacher to a low support teacher will experience a decreased appreciation for math. The effect of percieved teacher support will have a greater effect among girls as compared to boys.
This article was especially valuable in being aware of how students perceptions of support will come to affect how they value math, and how you as an person and not just a teacher affect your students.