Old habits die hard: An uphill struggle against rules without reason in mathematics teacher education
Journal Title: European Journal of Science and Mathematics Education - Year 2017, Vol 5, Issue 1
Abstract
Mathematics teacher educators in the University of Limerick became aware of a lack of conceptual understanding of key mathematics concepts of prospective secondary mathematics teachers through observation on teaching placement and in pedagogy lectures. A pilot study to enhance the conceptual understanding of prospective teachers was carried out with one undergraduate class in 2009/10 and a longer more in?depth programme was offered to all prospective mathematics teachers in the academic year 2011/12. The intervention was designed to get prospective mathematics teachers ‘thinking’ about mathematics topics they have so far taken for granted and hence better prepare them for classroom practice. This retrospective study divulges a number of observations which emerged, the main one being how rote learning and an emphasis on procedural skills at the expense of conceptual understanding results in a cycle of ineffective teaching which is difficult to break.
Authors and Affiliations
Niamh O’Meara| EPI•STEM, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland, For correspondence: niamh.omeara@ul.ie, Olivia Fitzmaurice| Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland, Patrick Johnson| Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP8132
- DOI -
- Views 334
- Downloads 25
How does grit impact college students’ academic achievement in science?
Research has suggested that achievement is not solely based on the cognitive abilities of the learner, but rather on the combination of cognitive ability and personality traits. This paper explores how grit affects stude...
Promising teacher practices: students’ views about their science learning
Internationally, conceptual and procedural understanding, understanding the Nature of Science, and scientific literacy are considered worthy goals of school science education in modern times. The empirical study presente...
Effectiveness of computer animation and geometrical instructional model on mathematics achievement and retention among junior secondary school students
This study investigated the effectiveness of computer animation and geometry instructional model on mathematics achievement and retention on Junior Secondary School Students in Minna, Nigeria. It also examined the influe...
Mathematics for language, language for mathematics
The author discusses the balance and mutual influence of the language of instruction and mathematics in the context of CLIL, Content and Language Integrated Learning. Different aspects of the relationship of language and...
Physics for primary school teachers – some practical experiences
Physics as a teaching subject starts usually in the sixth year of the school attendance in the Czech Republic. It means that pupils meet physics in the age of eleven or twelve. On the other hand, some basic physics pheno...