8 Principles Of Effective Mathematics Teaching.doc

8 Principles of Effective Mathematics Teaching. 1.

Build on the knowledge learners bring to sessions.

The advantages of doing this:  Developmental  Scaffolding  Student motivation  Students see relevance  Contextualised The difficulties of doing this:  Limited by curriculum content  Time constraints  Variety of students/needs  Contextualised 2.

Expose and discuss common misconceptions.

The advantages of doing this:  Identifies source of problem  Allows learners to move on  Learners can expose their own misconceptions  Encouraged to value each other’s opinions and look at different ways of solving problems The difficulties of doing this:  Hard to change pre-conceptions  Confidence – feeling stupid 3.

Develop effective questioning.

The advantages of doing this:  Opportunity to discuss process, not just the answer  Inclusive of all levels  Opportunity to explore and share alternative methods  Promoting discussion and team building  Thinking outside the box….helping learners progress The difficulties of doing this:  Time to plan questions  Not as much control for tutor  Some learners may not want to be involved

4.

Use cooperative small group work.

The advantages of doing this:  Gives learners some responsibility for own learning  Sharing knowledge  Learning from each other  Values learners’ input and experience  Encourages inclusivity  Allows for differentiation The difficulties of doing this:  Difficult to keep everyone on task  Classroom management  Group dynamics  Competition within group – dominant student  Practical facilities e.g. size of room  Easily distracted  Sharing feedback 5.

Emphasise methods rather than answers.

The advantages of doing this:  Makes students think more carefully about what they are doing  Allows students to gain important method marks in the exam!  Allows ‘own’ understanding and ability to discuss/challenge The difficulties of doing this:  Sometimes the answer is very important (drug dose calculation)  Accuracy may be sacrificed when methods are regarded as all-important 6.

Use rich collaborative tasks.

The advantages of doing this:  Maintains student interest/involvement  Students gain understanding  All students involved  Meets needs of different levels  Uses prior knowledge  Encourages discussion of different methods  Encourages passive learners to become active The difficulties of doing this:  Dominance of individual students  Competition between students  Lower level and unconfident student can be reluctant to participate  Takes a lot of preparation, time and energy to deliver

7.

Use technology in appropriate ways.

The advantages of doing this:  Can be used as interactive aid  Enable learner to work elsewhere e.g. home  Instant response  Widening IT skills  Used at any level and some disabled learners The difficulties of doing this:  Facilities/resources  Accessibility of suitable resources  Assessing learning  Time-consuming to research  Poor literacy skills – often lots of reading 8.

Create connections between mathematical topics.

The advantages of doing this:  Develops independent thinking and the ability to solve problems  Better understanding across different topics  Transferable skills  See relevance  Encourages broader thinking The difficulties of doing this:  Serial learning not compatible to above  Assessment led system – meeting targets