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Teaching Mathematics
Effectively
Robert D. Hackworth,
Educational Consultant
Unless we produce students
who are active, thoughtful learners, we are simply pushing
them up a greased pole.
Curtis Miles
One of the procedures I was taught long ago is that a teacher
needs to preview a lesson. I believed that. Also, I was
told that a presenter needs to set an agenda for the audience.
I believed that too. And when they came along, I was thoroughly
convinced of the value of behavioral objectives: a teacher
is obligated to state specifically his/her purpose of instruction
and communicate the objectives to the students. Again, I
believed what was claimed about behavioral objectives.
Today, I am less enthralled with behavioral objectives.
I agree completely with the idea that each instructor should
have prepared well for each lesson, but I am today less
certain about the specificity that is needed. I was taught
that the only acceptable behavioral objectives were those
that could be measured, and today I feel we have trivialized
many objectives just so they can be measured.
At this point, you should be wondering where I am going.
That's part of my strategy for this presentation. First,
I want you to know that I'm pulling old belief systems out
of the education closet and seeing which ones should be
discarded. Second, I want you to know that I have planned
carefully for this presentation with the full confidence
that if you pull me away from my original objectives, then
I can effectively deal with that situation.
Before I leave behavioral objectives completely, there is
a second problem about them that also violates the latest
thinking in mathematics education. To some degree, the practice
of informing a student at the beginning of a lesson of its
purpose is being questioned. The idea that a student should
be encouraged to accept a preordered organization of concepts
and skills contradicts some of the current beliefs about
the most effective way to learn mathematics.
This is all prelude, of course, to my hope that you will
not feel restrained by your own belief that I might be doing
something so important here that you should not interrupt
with questions or comments. I am, I think, well prepared
with my own script, but I shall be delighted if we find
some other paths to explore along the way. As you know,
a paper copy of what I have planned will be included in
the proceedings of the Institute, so the information I have
planned to bring you will be available anyway. That includes
all of my overheads, so there is really no need to take
notes. I encourage you to sit back, listen, think, and ask
questions.
[original document page 43]
The first order of business we need to address here is the
tension, maybe outright hostility, that exists between Mathematics
Departments and all other departments within our institutions.
In truth, there has been very little communication between
these warring camps for years. Most attempts to communicate
are frustrating exchanges in which different value systems
make the best of ideas fly by the other side without ever
making contact. Nothing we do here today is going to solve
this difficult problem, but I assure you that progress in
mathematics education cannot be achieved without some improvement
in our communication. There should be no adversarial relationship
between mathematicians and non-mathematicians. I am not
your academic enemy, even though I may have credentials
that may indicate it. You are certainly not an enemy of
mathematics, even though some of the problems I need to
talk about may touch programs close to your heart.
Consider me a bridge between the mathematics establishment
and yourselves. My experiences have put one foot in each
camp, and when I speak of the hostility between them, I
remember the heat I have taken from both sides.
I began my teaching career in mathematics with a plan for
my work life that is not recognizable when compared to my
actual experience. I still counsel my offspring and my students
to plan ahead, but it is only with the belief that some
planning will better prepare one for facing the drastic
changes that are, in my experience, unavoidable. Please
treat the advice I give you today accordingly. I would probably
give different advice if asked tomorrow and undoubtedly
would do so next year.
I plunged into developmental education by accident. My first
steps toward a lifetime's work were taken without any intention
of commitment. Florida in 1966 was making a serious (that
means well-funded) attempt to deal with students unprepared
for any college mathematics course, and I volunteered to
participate for one-third of my class load. My responsibility
was to teach a class of eight students! The mathematical
content was beginning and intermediate algebra. Obviously,
we believed that small classes with a great deal of personal
attention for each student would be effective. It was. It
would be today. And, of course, it is no longer considered
economically feasible EXCEPT, as some of you realize, with
some student tutoring programs.
Returning to my own plunge into developmental mathematics,
when the first economic crunches began, our successes with
small classes and personal attention seemed too valuable
to simply dismiss. When compared to the frequent failures
associated with traditional programs of lecture or lecture/discussion,
our positive experiences made us doubt the efficacy of even
those instructional programs, like calculus, where the failure
rate was "acceptable." But we began with developmental
mathematics because that was the point in the curriculum
where mathematics professors allowed some, not much, tinkering
with instruction.
And this is a good point to consider the meaning of "instruction."
In the late 1960's, I had a fairly simple concept for instruction
which limited it to "delivery systems." How could
I best "deliver" knowledge to my students? Issues
of motivation, attitudes, study skills, goal setting, were
students strengths/weaknesses which I knew had a serious
impact on learning,
[original document page 44]
but at that time they were
separate from "instruction." Consequently, my
first attempts to improve mathematics instruction focused
on delivering knowledge to students in ways that would make
the material easier to grasp and master. Examples of improved
delivery systems included the development of better explanations
in more logical sequences, more information available in
print materials, mastery testing materials, and expanded
use of video and computer materials. Results of those efforts
were gratifying, and by the end of the 1970's, I was approaching
Bloom's criteria for excellence: 90% of my students were
achieving 90% of our course objectives.
Then the numbers began to drop. Delivery systems, by themselves,
were no longer sufficient to guarantee quality learning.
The reasons for the drastic fall-off in mathematics learning
are complex (social, political, educational), but the effects
are familiar to all of us trying to teach, tutor, and/or
manage instructional programs. Students are failing mathematics
in large numbers. Fear and anxiety of mathematics is commonplace.
Complaints of mathematics instruction abound. Serious questions
of the relevance of mathematics are raised even in the face
of technology growth that demands greater not less understanding.
Meanwhile, the vast majority of mathematics professors are
today defining our instructional problems in the same terms
as they were described in the 1960's. Most mathematics teachers
continue to look for the WONDER BOOK or WONDER COMPUTER
PROGRAM that will miraculously change student achievement
levels. However, the leadership of the major mathematics
associations in the country have shown a far deeper understanding
of the problems and are accepting major responsibility for
addressing it. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
(NCTM) has courageously attacked the teaching practices
of its members. In 1991, NCTM published its Professional
Standards for Teaching Mathematics that promotes
a different vision of mathematics teaching. The Standards
states in positive terms the nature of the subject and methods
for teaching it appropriately and effectively. No reader
of the Standards can avoid its underlying criticism
of current mathematics instruction. There are today more
articles in the mathematics journals concerning instruction
or learning than I have ever observed in the past. And change
is coming. It's slow too slow but improvements in teaching
mathematics have begun.
This last week one of the employees at my school said they
really liked working when there weren't any students around.
That's because students are a problem, and student attitudes
toward mathematics are a serious obstacle to any improvement
in the services we provide. Large numbers of students who
seek help with mathematics have a very different idea of
"help" than those of us who are to provide it.
Conversations with such students rarely are instances of
good communication. Excellent explanations are frequently
ignored as useless ritual. The student waits for the rote
procedure needed to get answers. Mathematics teachers see
the explanations as the "true mathematics" and
the procedures used to actually solve problems as following
logically. Meanwhile, the students see the procedures as
"true mathe-mat-ics" and the explanations as unnecessary
fluff. These students try to pass the course by memorization.
Often, they make Herculean efforts and still fail because
those efforts are so inappropriate for learning mathematics.
It is easy to place the blame on the students, but it is
also obvious that they learned to treat mathematics this
way. Now, as professionals faced with this challenge, what
do we do
[original document page 45]
about it? Some mathematics
professors and tutors seem oblivious to other sources for
the learning problems and explicitly state that the problem
is one for the student to overcome. Other professionals
recognize that the difficulties are more complex, but have
no strategy for teaching students more effective ways of
learning mathematics.
When minds are stuffed
with knowledge they don't understand, their thinking becomes
chaotic.
Kamii &
DeVries, 1978
Major blame for student failures in mathematics can be properly
placed on their education. Teachers, school systems, social
myths, and public policies have created these problems,
and they will be with us until they are eliminated from
elementary/secondary school practices. This indictment of
elementary/secondary school practices does not mean that
we in higher education are any better (maybe worse), but
the problems begin earlier than we see them, and solutions
must be implemented earlier in our education systems. For
us, we can expect at least ten to twenty years more of accepting
new students who have learning deficiencies caused by their
past schooling. The extent to which we deal wisely and kindly
with these individuals will have a major impact on their
intellectual achievements across the curriculum.
Most education "reforms" have been failures. Longer
school days, more days, more required courses, standardized
tests have not brought improvements. My newspaper last Friday
announced a study that American students continued to compare
poorly against most others. Although I think the standardized
testing craze is part of our problem, I am pleased for the
results that indicate our reforms have been a failure.
Some current efforts are not only ineffective; they are
self-defeating. In some instances, mathematics professors
and tutors, under criticism from students and administrators,
have attempted to find better ways for their students to
learn mathematics by rote. Materials and testing procedures
have been altered accordingly. Students in these situations
may overcome the short-term hurdles they face, but the long-term
results are disastrous. In other words, they pass their
mathematics requirements, but are illiterate in the subject.
Sadly, it is many of these students who have become elementary
teachers, or other decision-makers in education, and have
promoted the wider use of practices which greatly enlarge
the problem.
As a first step toward improving our teaching of mathematics,
I would require all of us with responsibilities in the subject
to spend some time and effort acquiring an insight into
the nature of the subject. There is a startling disparity
of thought between mathematicians and those who have trouble
with mathematics. That disparity effectively blocks most
communication. When I say, "Mathematics is fun,"
many of my students reply, "That's because you know
all the rules and we don't." When a student says piously,
"Mathematics is very important," I am reminded
of Henry Whitehead's statement that some avocations deserve
a special position because of their intrinsic worth, and
then he cited music, mathematics, and the making of good
shoes!
Peter Hilton, distinguished professor of mathematics at
SUNY Binghampton describes the nature of his subject in
this way:
[original document page 46]
Mathematics is systematized
thought, supported by a beautifully adapted language and
notation. It is characterized by the recognition, discovery
and creation of pattern, and by the establishing of subtle
connections between its apparently very dissimilar parts.
Contrary to traditional school practice, it is not a set
of distinct subdisciplines, but a unity, drawing on a
diverse but interrelated repertoire of concepts and techniques.
Again contrary to popular belief, it is not a set of facts;
and mathematical understanding is not to be measured by
tests of knowledge and memory. Thus, for the student,
what matters is that he or she learn to think mathematically
and any significant part of mathematics can be used as
the vehicle to convey the necessary understanding and
thinking ability. Conversely, no part of mathematics,
however seemingly appropriate, can prepare the student
really to use mathematics intelligently and effectively,
if it is taught simply as a set of isolated skills, to
be retained by the exercise of undiscriminating memory.
Joe Garofalo, professor of mathematics education, University
of Virginia describes mathematics in terms of the student
outcomes we should expect:
I want students to develop
mathematical power, meaningful concepts, healthy beliefs
about the nature and value of mathematics, confidence
in their ability to learn and use mathematics, and useful
problem solving strategies. Traditional teaching methods
are not very effective for helping students achieve these
goals; actually such methods often work against them.
It is my experience that
most students having trouble with mathematics focus on retaining
subject matter content without first learning the intellectual
skills needed to support that effort. Consequently, a second
major thrust toward improving mathematics education must
involve a broader view of instruction. I stated earlier
that instruction has been viewed as a "delivery system"
which ignores many factors which impact on learning. Today's
quality instruction must take responsibility for these other
factors. Claire Ellen Weinstein, professor of educational
psychology at the University of Texas, states that learning
has at least three facets that must be addressed by instruction:
1. Skill. The language,
techniques, facts, etc. of a subject.
2. Will. The attitudes and motivations which drive efforts
to learn.
3. Management. The ability to make appropriate decisions
for engaging in learning activities.
Obviously, most traditional
instruction devotes little time or effort to two of these
facets. In fact, all planning is focused on content delivery.
Course calendars are written in
[original document page 47]
terms of content coverage,
and serious criticism is given the teacher who does not
"cover the required curriculum."
When the instruction does attempt to address other issues
besides content, there is often a superficial quality about
those efforts. We have had few experiences, in school, upon
which to model such instruction. In fact, the best models
for such instruction are found outside our schools.
Some years ago, Claire Ellen Weinstein outlined four areas
of concern for quality instruction. She claimed that they
were necessary and sufficient conditions for learning. I
have applied them to the teaching of mathematics and have
found them to greatly improve my awareness and monitoring
of my own instruction. When I am aware, I include all four
areas in my instruction. When I evaluate my instruction,
I find that using the four areas gives me an excellent model
for monitoring it. I believe that instruction of mathematics
based on these four areas of concern can meet the views
of mathematicians about the subject and also conform with
theories of learning. We need to do both.
1. Create Quality Learning Environments
Each of our students lives in two environments: an academic
environment and a nonacademic environment. Most students
in community colleges spend the greater part of their waking
hours in non-academic settings, and many of the difficulties
for those students are directly related to influences outside
the campus boundaries. Those of us who work in institutions
where most or all of the students live on campus are blessed
by circumstances where the on-campus problems generally
dominate. I'm going to restrict my comments to the academic
environment, but that is due, in part, to my helplessness
to suggest ways of overcoming problems in the non-academic
environments.
Our premise is that what
a student learns depends to a great degree on how he or
she learned it.... for each individual, mathematical power
involves the development of personal self-confidence.
Curriculum
and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics
For some of you, your workspace is on a campus with real
academic character. Others here, no doubt, work on campuses
which were built on a warehouse model. In my teaching situation,
it seemed that the same architect designed all the colleges
and used the same design he had used earlier for the prisons.
Students tend to transfer their memories of past mathematics
learning environments to new situations. Frequently, we
make that easier because most math classrooms do look alike:
a blackboard with rows of desks. Make the environment different
from what the student has experienced in the past. Encourage
the student to approach this learning experience differently
by changing the physical qualities around them. Quantitative
changes like less blackboards, less desks, are helpful,
but qualitative changes are vital. Look for ways to raise
the cultural level.
[original document page 48]
Changes that might be made include the following:
1. Hang plants in the room.
2. Play background music (preferably classical with slow
beat).
3. Hang paintings from the college library.
4. Put flowers on the tables.
5. Carpet seating areas.
The major environmental factor
for the student will be the teacher, tutor, and/or manager.
Break the stereotypical image of a math person. Students
expect mathematicians to be cold and logical. Surprise them;
be warm, friendly, and maybe illogical. Students often believe
mathematicians have no other interests; share the fact that
you have a life outside mathematics:
1. Bring a novel you are
reading with you to class.
2. Talk about a concert or play you recently attended.
3. Mention characteristics of parents, friends, that made
you mathematical.
4. Be personal.
Play down the role of education
for making money. That idea is far oversold, and the student
already gets plenty of it. Instead, emphasize the historical,
cultural, intellectual role of mathematics. All content
makes good sense under that umbrella. Puzzles, ridiculous
word problems, rationalizing denominators in the age of
calculators, are wonderful topics when we get past the argument
of "How am I ever going to use this?"
Anxiety is a major problem for many mathematics students.
Recognize their fears and publicly admit to being lucky
that our own experiences were unlike theirs. Avoid scare
tactics and harsh rules because they will not work with
students who are already afraid. Exude patience, confidence,
and a belief that hard work under your direction will overcome.
Emphasize that anxiety frequently interferes with properly
budgeting time, persevering, asking questions, and taking
responsibility for their own learning.
Most students in trouble are reactive rather than proactive.
They may attend class religiously, take prodigious quantities
of notes, and strenuously attempt to decipher those notes.
If so, they deserve an "A" for effort and will
probably earn a low grade in mathematics.
To become proactive your students should be taught Benjamin
Bloom's three factors for predicting success/failure. Bloom's
first and major predictive factor is the amount the student
knows before a topic is taught cognitive entry skills. Those
who know the most at the beginning almost always know the
most at the end. This is often a prediction of failure for
weak students. In fact, it is a strong indication of what
needs to be done to be successful: Prepare before each session,
and learn as much as possible about the topic before instruction
begins.
Bloom's second factor is affective entry skills. Affective
domain factors such as motivation, beliefs, values, and
attitudes invariably facilitate and/or debilitate thinking
and
[original document page 49]
learning. Occasionally these
affective entry skills dominate all others. This is the
case with students suffering severe anxiety or with those
who are unable to accept a mathematician's view of the subject.
In general, however, affective entry skills are of minor
importance compared to prior knowledge. Another important
aspect of affective domain factors is the fact that they
often appear to be less under the control of the student.
In fact, however, good students do improve their probabilities
of success by their awareness of strengths or weaknesses
in this area.
The last major factor listed by Bloom is teacher behavior,
and the research can be most discouraging for teachers.
It seems to indicate that we have a minor influence on success/failure.
In many instances that is true, but the teacher who uses
Bloom's research can reverse that negative outcome. The
teacher that assesses cognitive and affective skills, and
then actually does something about them, can use them to
positively influence outcomes. For example, since cognitive
entry skills are so immensely important, quality instruction
must always begin where the student is rather than where
the course assumes she is.
Students who are aware of Bloom's factors can also see themselves
as responsible for success/failure an absolute necessity
for any instruction to be effective. They can regulate their
study to learn more effectively. They can also voice some
needs that must be addressed if they are to succeed.
2. Process Information Correctly
Mathematics information
can be divided into two categories:
1. Information that needs to be carefully memorized.
Examples are definitions, symbols, postulates, perhaps
some formulas, and occasionally a rule that needs to be
practiced before it can be understood.
2. Information that needs to be figured out each time
it is encountered. Examples are procedures, rules, and
problems.
Good mathematics students use these two categories correctly.
Poor mathematics students practice them in exactly the opposite
way.
The current rage in mathematics education is Constructivism.
The allure of this psychological theory is that it emphasizes
prior knowledge and making inferences. Mathematical knowledge
under this interpretation is developed like a brick wall.
The wall is made of bricks, but the integrity of the structure
depends upon the positioning of the bricks and the quality
of the mortar that connects them. The knowledge of mathematicians
is organized like the bricks in a wall, but the knowledge
of students having trouble with mathematics is more like
the bricks in a pile, where each brick represents a separate
entity, and there is neither organization or connections.
A word that is used frequently in discussing mathematics
achievement is "understanding," but when most
of us are asked to explain what that means, the results
are often so
[original document page 50]
vague that any teacher can
claim quite honestly that they teach for "understanding."
The constructivists have given us a better way for evaluating
our teaching.
Mathematics information
is normally hierarchical. Often, there is a logical learning
sequence which will make learning easier.
Mathematics information is always interrelated. Regardless
of the topic, it has relationships with all other mathematics.
With few exceptions, new topics in mathematics can be described
by concrete situations. The famous psychologist Piaget strongly
suggests that all new topics be introduced in that manner
and later translated to more abstract situations. Some teaching
and learning violates this Piagetian principle. For example,
many elementary texts teach a method for finding the least
common multiple of two numbers that is, for the student,
a bit of magic. If that student first listed multiples of
pairs of numbers and selected the least common multiple
from the lists, the magic would be unclothed and seen as
a shortcut for the more understandable process.
Besides using concrete situations to introduce abstract
concepts, a second requirement would be to provide time
and opportunity for the student to process new topics. The
psychologist David Kolb describes the amount of learning
as the addition of two vectors: one vector is the amount
of instruction, and the other perpendicular vector is the
amount of processing. If you double the processing,then
you double the learning.
One of the most valuable understandings that needs to be
explicitly taught is the existence of three types of knowledge
in mathematics.
1. Declarative Knowledge
The Whats of Learning
2. Procedural Knowledge The Hows of Learning
3. Conditional Knowledge The Whys and Whens of Learning
Good mathematics students
treat the three types of knowledge as equals or, if not,
they treat #1 and #3 as the most important. Poor students
generally are unaware of the different types and, when they
are, place great emphasis on #2. This means, of course,
that they are making learning more difficult and less enjoyable.
Teachers can help their students with these forms by constantly
modeling by asking questions such as:
"What" questions
that seek declarative knowledge:
1. What do I know about
this?
2. What am I trying to find?
3. What can I do to present the problem another way?
4. What part of this problem can I solve?
5. What steps/strategies will I use?
6. What does this problem mean?
[original document page 51]
7. What sort of answer
might I anticipate?
"Why" questions
that seek conditional knowledge:
1. Why is this answer reasonable?
2. Why does this work?
3. Can I explain my strategy to someone else?
4. Is there another way to solve this problem?
5. Why is this the best approach on this problem?
6. Why would someone make errors on this type of problem?
7. Why would anyone want to solve this type of problem?
3. Maintain an Active
Mind
Research consistently demonstrates
that we use and retain very little of what we are told,
what we read, or what we watch. Learners learn because
they are engaged in creating, processing, and interpreting
experience, both real and simulated.
ISETA News-let-ter (exploring teaching alter-na-tives)
Winter 1989
A mind that wanders is normal.
Most of us can be reading a very interesting novel and suddenly
find we don't know what has happened the last few pages.
Our reaction is to return to those pages and begin again
where we need the review. Students frequently experience
a similar experience when studying mathematics, but often
they try to continue when they have no understanding of
the preceding material. In mathematics, this is like building
a two-story house and then trying to dig out the basement.
An active mind is a necessity for learning, and students
need to be taught to maintain the mind's activity. "AHA!"
experiences are the best learning experiences we can bring
our students. We have excellent clues on how to build situations
that are nurturing climates for "AHA!" but those
situations are difficult to create in schools. The major
reasons: Time and Accountability.
Two types of strategies should be applied on a mathematical
problem. A cognitive strategy is an identifiable and reproducible
thought process directed at a particular type of task (the
quadratic formula for solving equations). A heuristics strategy
is the use of a smorgasbord of thinking tools when reacting
to a situation (solving nonroutine problems). Some students
want every problem reduced to a cognitive strategy, but
that is neither possible nor desirable. Wherever possible,
use heuristics. The best way to do this is through the use
of nonroutine problems that is, problems where no cognitive
strategy has been developed or where the cognitive strategies
are more difficult to apply than heuristics.
Keeping an active mind may be translated as "THINKING,"
but a major problem with the translation is the meaning
of the word. Every teacher-tutor aspires to teach "thinking,"
but most descriptions of how that is accomplished are vague
and difficult to replicate.
[original document page 52]
Consider mathematical thinking to be a search for meaning
and constantly stress that search. Asking questions about
meaning is an effective way to teach the process.
What does this mean?
What does 3 + 5 mean?
What does "Find the least common multiple of 21
and 35" mean?
What does 7% of 832 mean?
What does x + 5 = 12 mean?
What does (x - 5)2 = 49 mean?
Examples of other questions
which search for meaning are:
Write a simpler problem.
What does the answer to this problem look like?
If you had the answer, what would you do to check it?
Find the last problem you could do correctly.
What is different about this problem from others you
have done?
If you could change something about this problem to
make it easier, what would you select?
Teachers of mathematics need
to primarily ask "W" questions (What, Where, Why,
When, Who). They need to avoid asking "How" questions
because these frequently encourage the replication of some
known process.
Teacher questions are rarely as good as student questions.
And the very best questions are those that a student asks
of him/herself. When a student questions her/himself, it
requires:
(1) active processing, (2) thinking about their own thinking
processes, and (3) the recall of prior knowledge.
4. Monitor Comprehension
The skilled learner strives
to reach two goals:
to understand the meaning of the tasks at hand, and
to regulate his or her own learning
Strategic
Teaching and Learning, ASCD
Self-evaluation is a crucial, on-going process. Just as
prior knowledge is crucial to beginning successful study,
so too is review crucial for integrating and consolidating
it. The students who pass one test and immediately forget
its content have never learned that constant review and
assimilation of knowledge is a necessity in mathematics.
Teach students to treat evaluation and review as important
aspects of their study. You might begin this process with
some learning theory. Learning theory should be a first
course in education, but few students or teachers seem to
act consciously upon one. The three step
[original document page 53]
process shown below is sufficient
for students to apply and monitor their own effectiveness
in learning.
1. Awareness of the new
learning intended
a. Background check (prior
knowledge needed)
b. Focus (put attention directly on the new learning)
2. Active response to some
question or problem intended to illustrate acquisition
of the new learning.
3. Feedback on the degree
to which the active response was appropriate or correct.
Students also will benefit
by evaluating their instruction. Making a conscious effort
to judge their instruction is part of the process for students
becoming responsible for their own success/failure. Bloom's
criteria for quality instruction provides a simple four-phase
method for evaluation.
1. Does the instruction
provide clear cues or directions?
2. Does the instruction include an appropriate learning
activity?
3. Does the instruction provide feedback?
4. When difficulties are encountered, does the instruction
provide corrective recycling?
At the heart of comprehension
monitoring are those skills which are labeled metacognitive.
Metacognitive skills are the thoughts (knowledge and skills)
used to plan, monitor, and evaluate an individual's cognition.
If cognition were thinking, then metacognition would be
thinking about thinking. The monitoring and evaluating functions
of metacognition are important when a student has only a
vague idea of how well or poorly they are learning. Many
students are unaware of what they know and what they do
not know. These students are having trouble monitoring and
evaluating their comprehension. Successful students learn
efficiently by utilizing the feedback they receive from
the monitoring and evaluating functions to improve their
future performance.
I have found an interesting way to encourage my students
to engage in more metacognition. I tell them that all learning
of mathematics comprises two components. The first is learning
the content of the subject. The second is learning to what
degree that content has been learned. The permutations of
these two components include the following:
1. The student who knows
the subject and knows he/she knows the subject. This is
the student who is probably working towards an "A."
[original document page 54]
2. The student who knows
the subject, but doesn't know whether he/she knows the
subject. This is frequently the student with anxiety,
and anxiety reduction techniques may bring a dramatic
improvement in performance.
3. The student who doesn't
know the subject, and also knows he/she doesn't know the
subject. This student has the knowledge to improve performance.
The question here is if the student has the will and management
skills.
4. The student who doesn't
know the subject, and doesn't know he/she doesn't know
the subject. This student suffers from "double ignorance."
All is not lost, however, because awareness of the situation
may move this student to take advantage of the plethora
of materials now available to evaluate the degree of knowledge.
If so, this student can become a #3 just with that knowledge.
Again, does the student have the will and management?
Students today present new,
more difficult challenges for their mathematics teachers-tutors.
Explicit teaching of the nature of mathematics rather than
solving routine problems can best overcome the mindblocks
of our students that continually lead to more failure.
[page 55]
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