CHALLENGES IN TEACHING MATHEMATICS
LEOPOLDO VALENTE S. MENDOZA
Nowadays, in the secondary school setting, there are some challenges being encountered by the teachers especially in teaching Mathematics. It is not an easy task to encourage learners to love numbers. It is evident that there are some of the junior high school students who experience difficulties in learning Mathematics. This is a challenge which requires an immediate action. Learners as clienteles in school are the focus in the classroom scenario. In order to motivate learners in attaining successful learning, it is necessary for the teachers to be creative in teaching. Producing a learning enhancement activities that is new to the learners is one effective way. Orient the learners that learning Mathematics is fun. Integration of exciting games and electronic – based learning can increase the students’participation in problem – solving.
Teachers also experience problems in teaching Mathematics specifically when there is a big number of non – numerates. Learners with low level of interest in Mathematics resulted to the lack of skills in different learning competencies in this area. It is in the hands of the teachers to improve the learners’capability in learning this subject. One of the effective methods is the remediation or enrichment activities that are suited to the students’learning style.This can be applied through the implementation of differentiated instruction. Every learner has his/her own way of learning. Adaptability to change is an efficient and effective trait of the teachers which can be utilized to increase the interest of the learners in learning Mathematics. This happens when teachers produce learning innovation that could definitely decrease the number of non – numerates.
Despite the challenges in teaching Mathematics, teachers still need to embrace their responsibility and exhibit commitment towards the improvement of the learners. It is the mission of every teacher to help learners to become successful and productive citizen of the country. Teachers can transform challenges into solutions. Finally, learning goals will be attainable when there is creativity in teaching.
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II at Lubao National High School
The author is Teacher