Thoughts when listening to the podcast
Hatred for mathematics is common and leads to poor performance—reasons for hatred range from trauma to poor foundation in the subject.
Students who had trauma when they were young may also associate the experience with mathematics worsening their performance. However, a change of environment may not be possible every time a student performs poorly in the subject.
However, a moderate change in teaching styles can work wonders. Also, learners with a disability, such as dyslexia, should not be considered extremely limited as this denies them the power to do the best they can.
The nature of homework for learners determines how they perform in the subject. The teacher’s understanding of the content is vital if learners are to perform excellently in mathematics. Learning is more than writing on the pages, and learners need to internalize what they transfer in their books.
Questions
What are the ideas raised in the podcast? How do they make you think about?
Attitude towards mathematics is the first idea that determines the performance of students. Students who have the subject perform poorly because they do not love doing practice. Second, stereotypes usually about mathematics being a difficult subject that affects girls’ performance lead to poor performance. If learners were made to believe that mathematics is an easy subject, they would develop a positive attitude towards the subject. This would be a tremendous emotional approach to deal with the stereotypes deeply rooted in learners’ minds.
Further, giving homework to mixed-ability classes should be approached to balance the ability of these learners. This includes teaching learners with a disability, like dyslexia. Finally, the teacher’s understanding of the content is essential. Teachers with a little grip on the range may make it hard for learners to understand the subject. Ideally, there are times when it is vital to change the teaching styles to give room for learners to get the concept. This makes me feel like teachers with little subject understanding are the primary reason students fail in mathematics.
Have you witnessed any of the ideas discussed in the podcast? If so, how?
Yes, I have witnessed learners who hate mathematics. The learner found it hard to complete given homework and had come to accept that getting low grades in the subject was acceptable. This led to a state of hopelessness, and changing the mindset of the learner was quite a task. However, with consistent homework follow-up and motivation, the learner started to change his mind about mathematics. The task of encouraging him had to, however, come from all sides. The parents, peers as well teachers played an important role in doing so.
How might the ideas discussed in the podcast influence your mathematics teaching practices in the future?
The ideas discussed in the podcast are relevant in my future teaching career. First, appreciating that learners may have some hatred for mathematics is vital. With such knowledge, I will find it essential to make the learners love the subject. This will help change their minds about the subject and change the old beliefs that girls lack the brilliance that boys have. The ideas will also impact the way I will give homework to the students. This is because learners have varied ability and offering a similar assignment to learners of different learning abilities will overwork one and underwork the other. Striking a balance is vital in ensuring that learners perform their best.