Literature

Review 1

Literature Review
Matt Oswandel
MAT 690 Capstone
National University
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Abstract

For many students, mathematics can be mysterious. Like a foreign land, its language can be

strange and its customs confusing. The more time one is exposed to a foreign culture allows for

greater respect and understanding. Making mathematics understandable to students involves

many different strategies aimed at meeting the needs of various types of learners. Teaching for

Math Understanding by Ed Thomas provides strategies that can be used for teaching and

learning mathematics.
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When will I use this? is a question that I frequently hear as a junior high school math

teacher, as students wonder how the quadratic equation or finding the volume of a cone will play

a role in their future lives. Unbeknownst to many students, math is used in lifes basic day-to-

day activities like making purchases, keeping track of cell phone data plans, and playing video

games. My approach to teaching is to make math understandable, applicable, relevant and

enjoyable. I stress to my students that mathematics is not simply a collection of concepts,

formulas, and calculations, but rather, a logical and analytical way of thinking about everyday

life. My goal as a mathematics teacher is for students to not only know how to do math, but

also know the why. Math concepts are ideas, meaning and relationships, and its not just about

know the procedure but also the significance behind the procedure. Teaching the how and

why to students is a sure way to increase math understanding for students.

In Ed Thomas Teaching for Math Understanding, Five Stages of Teaching and

Learning Mathematics are introduced with the five stages including: Knowledge,

Understanding, Proficiency of Skills, Application, and Retention. As important as the five

stages are, Understanding positively impacts the other four stages of teaching and learning

mathematics and should take precedence for mathematics to be successfully taught and

understood (Thomas, 2017). Students that understand the how and why of math are more

likely to recall important math facts, develop mastery, successfully develop problem-solving and

critical thinking skills, and retain math for further academic studies. In far too many classrooms,

students learn math vocabulary, formulas, and procedures without understanding them which

hinders problem-solving and critical thinking skills, and the lack of math understanding can

critically impact ones future in education. Students that develop a deep understanding of math
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concepts are likely to be able to identify connections between concepts and develop math

proficiency and mastery.

The traditional role of education has been to transfer culture from one generation to the

next, and formal education rose from the need to train skilled workers during the Industrial

Revolution. Today, as we proceed through the Information Age, the world that has become

interconnected and interdependent, the demands faced in the 21st century require that all students

are prepared for college, career, and citizenship. It is imperative that students are equipped with

the necessary skills, competencies, and relevant education that will allow them to compete and

be successful on a global scale.

Students learn in different ways and at different rates, and my approach every day is to

teach math in a way that is understandable, applicable, relevant, and enjoyable. Some of the

ways that I approach teaching math are:

1. Learn by doing: Students need a rich supply of meaningful examples and

manipulatives to help make ideas and relationships come to life and find relevancy.
Showing students different ways to solve the same problem and encouraging students
to create their own way to solve problems leads to deeper understanding.

2. Cooperative learning: Group work forces students to share and explain their ideas and
strategies with others. Math is best learned by teaching others and individual mastery of
a topic is demonstrated when the students can teach it to their peers.

3. Make math fun and exciting: Mindless repetition is boring! Math is related to nearly
every interest and students are turned off when they dont see a purpose for what
theyre learning, so its important to constantly show them how math is useful in
everyday life. I make every attempt to designing lessons and activities which I find
fun, and which may grab the students' attention. If I don't like the activity, how can I
expect the students to enjoy it!
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It is a common belief our American society that some people are naturally good at math and

others are not. In countries that have successful math education programs, people believe that

learning is a long and slow process that happens over time, while in the United States people are

quick to believe that if a math problem is too hard to solve, then you are just not a math

person. Far too many students fear, hate and are intimidated by math and end up leaving school

without an understanding of basic mathematical concepts. Creating an environment of math

understanding at an early age and demonstrating that virtually all math that is taught is relevant,

and connects to the real world can develop deeper understanding and appreciation of math.

Without relevancy, teachers run the risk of students viewing math as uninteresting, unimportant,

and unnecessary. These feelings will negatively affect students motivation to participate in math

and the learning process.

Far too often, I am not good at math! or I cant do this! can be heard in math classrooms

around the United States. It has become a common misconception in the United States that

children are born with mathematical ability, but research has proven this to be untrue. Creating a

foundation of math understanding coupled with changing the mindsets of students by

encouraging them to learn from their mistakes and failures, and let them know that our brains

grow when we make mistakes, and we can understand math concepts better. Henry Ford may

have summed it up best when he said, Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time

more intelligently.
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Bibliography

Thomas, E. (2017, June 12). Teaching for Understanding in Math. Retrieved November 04, 2017, from
http://www.edcircuit.com/teaching-for-understanding-in-math/