How Do Children Learn Mathematics?
Before we get started, here is video to bring in some comic relief to those of you who feel like you are speaking a different language when teaching math to your students. Children all learn differently which is a beautiful and challenging aspect of mathematics teaching & practices to grades across the spectrum. I hope it brings you some laughter as we delve into all areas of mathematics!
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Children learn mathematics in a variety of ways! However, a students knowledge in mathematics is primarily focused on the instruction they receive in the classroom; teacher support plays a huge role in student development! Some of the ways we have observed this semester include the following: developing early number sense, relationships between numbers 1 through 10, strategies for solving contextual problems, and many others! Children learn mathematics through classrooms structured around interactive activities, engagement, and investment in students mathematic awareness and sense. How children learn mathematics is, as we have learned, also dependent on the type of student at hand. For example, gifted students, and students who may have mathematical dislexia or disabilities would solve and learn mathematics problems different than a gifted student whom mathematical concepts may come easier to.
Different strategies and approaches appeal and work differently depending on the student you are working with. In a large classroom with a variety of learners, it can become challenging and difficult to teach mathematics in such a way that all learners are being supported and reaching their full potential in the area of mathematics, but through different strategies, it is possible to reach each student in the room in such a way that guides each of them. The following article supports much of the research and learning we have done this semester in terms of addressing the "old school" way in which many teachers introduce mathematics. The article is called Are We Teaching Math All Wrong? by Carol Lloyd (to access the article, click on the button icon at the bottom of the page). |