Foundations, theory and practice of bilingual general education and special education and multicultural perspectives in education
The chapter Teaching middle school mathematics for all by James A. Telese constitutes the appropriate techniques and approaches math teachers should utilize in teaching math to heterogeneous groups of students in middle school level.
Telese identifies some of the hindrances that prevent many students from performing well in mathematics and offers some solutions to the identified problems. The main problem causing students in middle school to perform poorly in mathematics is not the complexity of the subject or the students being dumb, it is an issue related to the student’s attitudes towards the subject (Telese n.p).
Students according to Telese should be inspired and motivated to create in them a curiosity and an intense urge to learn mathematics concepts. Students often respond on the positive when asked whether they like mathematics while in elementary level. This attitude however changes gradually in a majority of the students as they approach middle school and high school. It is the lack of creativity and lack of consistently sustaining the interest in mathematics that eventually leads to many students to avoid mathematics or any math related subject.
Telese points out that all students should be accorded the same chance and expectations when it comes to performing well in mathematics. Discriminating students on the basis of their language ability or race discourages otherwise bright students from performing well and also diminish such students interest in mathematics (Telese n.p). It is thus wise therefore to foster a positive attitude in all students to create in them a belief that they can perform well irrespective of their backgrounds or the complexity level of the concepts being taught.
Telese gives six basic principles for teaching mathematics. The principles include the equity, curriculum, teaching, assessment, technology and learning principles. He however discusses the equity, teaching and learning principles. The equity principle lays emphasis on non discriminatory teaching practices, the teaching principle propagates that teachers should be competent and have adequate knowledge and skills to teach mathematics while the learning principle propagates that students need to be assisted to fully understand the concepts inherent in mathematics rather than just learning superficially for exams sake.
The chapter highlights two theories that complement the teaching principle in effective math teaching. These theories are Constructivist and socio-cultural learning theories (Telese n.p). Constructivist theory posits that humans learn by building up on previously learned concepts to learn new concepts. Teachers thus have to have a basic knowledge of the students’ history to structure the mode of relaying instructions. If the teacher relays instructions that are very contrary to the base knowledge of a particular student, then such a student may experience difficulties in learning newly introduced concepts.
Socio-cultural approach on the other hand posits that the environment of an individual plays a significant role in that individual’s ability to learn mathematical concepts (Telese n.p). This approach identifies the personal attributes of an individual person in relation to the individual’s cultural environment. For a student to learn effectively, tutors need to identify this relation and instruct such a student based on it. Tutors should however be careful not to stereotype as individuals from the same cultural background may elicit varying characteristics.
The most important elements Telese identifies in teaching mathematics effectively are, to identify the underlying hindrances, construct techniques to suit a given group of students, to focus on individuals in relation to their environment and to encourage as well as motivate active learning rather than just passive acquisition of knowledge.
Work cited
Telese, James A. “Teaching Middle School Mathematics for All.”
