Social / cultural
issues on mathematics teaching /
learning and curriculum
development.
Students
enter mathematics classroom with a wide range of background, knowledge,
experiences and dispositions. These differences which arised both before they came
to school and while they are in school create different orientations and
learning experiences. For some their experiences will not help and they need to
support their learning. How teachers work with this diversity is informed by
their own ideologies. Some teacher will see the differences as something
biological or innate in the students where as other will see such differences
as something constructed and reified through school practices. The following
questions are arises about the practices of the mathematics curriculum found in
most classrooms:
i.
Why
do disproportionate numbers of indigenous students fail mathematics in
comparison to their non endogenous peers?
ii.
Why
are students from working class background more likely to fail mathematics than
their middle class peers?
iii.
Why
are students who live in remote or rural setting more at risk of failing or
performing poorly at school mathematics than their urban peers?
iv.
Why
are some students whose first language is not English or Nepali more at risk of
performing poorly in school mathematics than their peers who speak English or
Nepali?
v.
Why
is it that when these variables are combined, the risk of failing is even
higher?
Mathematics
is one thing to some, another thing to other. Some enjoy it, other do not. Mathematics
is difficult for many peoples. It produces two classes of citizens those who
acquire key concepts, special terminology and master the role of game and those
who never quite learn and who never still struggling with step 1. When the
instructor has finished with the final step of the explanation. When
considering how one deals diverse classrooms, two different positions exist.
Some teacher advocates an approach where children are treated differently as
they have different ability and experiences. Thus how the treats the students
in the diverse classroom is dependent upon the view of teachers so there are
the following two
# Equality views:-
In the cases of quality teacher he see each
student the same. So he treats them equally. There is every likelihood that
this teacher will follows the set of curriculum guidelines for year I and teach
this content, making slight adjustment support learning of the disadvantaged
students. There are the following assumptions in the case of the equality
views:-
1)
All
the students are given a fair chance at succeeding so all students should n be
given the some opportunities. It is up to the student to choose which options
they want.
2) Discourage of equality subscribe to
principles of fairness and choice.
# Equity view:-
The
equity teacher is more likely to adopt a teaching practice whereby the
background knowledge of the student becomes the centre of the curriculum and
learning experiences are based around those experiences so that learning is
built from there. There are the following assumptions in the case of equity
view:
i.
Disadvantaged
students are more likely to perform poorly at school due to different home
circumstances and the practices of school mathematics not sufficient.
ii.
If
disadvantaged students are to succeed in mathematics, different opportunities
need to be made available to them in order to redress the differences in school
and non-school experiences.
iii.
Discourses
of equity subscribe to the principle of justice and difference.
Among
different issues of mathematics teaching/learning, gender issues is
one of them. This is discussed as
follows:
Different
researches have shown that the achievement in mathematics of girls is very much
less than that of the boys. The main factor is lower achievement of girls or
females are as follows:
i.
Female
feels less confident in learning mathematics.
ii.
Male
dominates female in learning mathematics.
iii.
Female
feels mathematics less useful for their lives.
iv.
Less
participation of female in classroom teaching/learning.
v.Less participation of women in economic, intellectual, social and
political opportunity.
vi.
Less
care in education for girls by parents especially in rural area.
vii.
Fewer
enrollment of girls in class in comparison to boys in mathematics and
mathematics related subjects.
For the increment of female participation in mathematics education and a
positive attitude forwards mathematics education.
The following suggestions should be applied bitterly:
i.
Identification
the cause of less participation of female in economic, social, political,
intellectual areas.
ii.
Providing
equal opportunity on participation of classroom teaching.
iii.
Providing
some accommodation for the increment of enrolment of girls in school. For
example: - scholarship for the female of poor and backward society.
iv.
Providing
environment for girls to learn as boys by the parents.
v.
Promoting
the education of the girls a science technological subject and vocational
subject related to maths like banking, medicine, engineering and industrial
etc.
There are the following two models of
difference to treat socially and culturally diverse student:-
1. Cognitive models of differences
Cognitive
model of learning provide the student to make or get knowledge from their own
constructed works. Student learns on the basis of their own experience and
ability. In this model students construct different meaning from class room
work. For example:
The student
who enters the classroom with an understanding of a square having more than
three sides will construct very different meaning from their interactions with
the teaching process than the peer who enters the classroom with an understanding
of a square having four sides. This will be again different from the students
who enter the classroom with an understanding of square having four equal
sides. Constructivism allows teachers to see how students contract their own
meaning so that when students enter the classroom their pre-existing knowledge
and experiences are framed with in cognitive terms.
By the poorly
cognitive approach the students having low ability, low motivation, and
cognitively inferior, delayed growth and so on are not progress as expected.
2. Social models of difference
For the
socially/culturally diverse classroom the social model of difference is more
appropriate and significant. This models seek to understand diverse background
and the experiences brought about through those backgrounds and how these will
impact on how students construct meanings. In viewing the mathematics
curriculum as a construction of social knowledge, social models of difference
see the curriculum as representation of others. Under these models when teaching
practices are seen problematic and contributing to the failure of many
students, teachers able to change their practices in order to enhance learning
outcomes for all students. In order to change practices teachers need to
recognize differences in students, their background and their orientation
towards schooling and mathematics.
In
cognitive model the focus is a developing cognition. Social models extend this
position at the same time recognizing the social factors that impact on success
in mathematics. Social factors includes those brought to the learning
environment itself. Teachers need to make a rule that all students are able to
participate in class room practice.
Bibliography
Pandit, Dr. R.P. : Foundation of Mathematics Education , United Graphic Printers, Pvt.
Ltd., Kathmandu, Nepal
Budhathoki,
Tara Bahadur and Surendra Ram : Foundation
of Mathematics Education ( M. Ed. 1st Year ) Kshitij Prakashan,
Kathmand
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