TIPS ON MATH TEACHING
RONA S. CASTADA
Believe it or not, the first thing that a math teacher must hurdle in the teaching of mathematics is the anxiety that affects students who find the subject difficult to begin with.
Math anxiety is the feeling of tension and anxiety that interfere with the manipulation of numbers and the solving of Mathematical problems in a wide variety of ordinary life and academic situations.
In the classroom set up, the difficulty of understanding basic principles in mathematics is anxiety in itself. The prospect of making mistakes and being laughed at by classmates and the ridicule that comes with it is all the more a big challenge for students. Having this kind of anxiety may lead to the hates and dislikes of people against mathematics.
Research also confirms that risk of embarrassment and time pressured tests have been recognized as sources of unproductive tension among the students.
Marilyn Curtain-Phillips mentioned three practices which are parts of the traditional mathematics classroom and cause anxiety to students are imposed: “authority, public exposure, and time deadlines.”
From this, I believe that there is a big responsibility on the part of the teacher to actually use teaching strategies that reduce math anxiety. There is a great emphasis on how to make a rather feared and unpopular more likable in the practical and more applicable sense.
Studies have shown students learn best when they are active rather than to those who are passive learners I think it’s because active students learn to practically try to solved certain problems and they will know if they have mistakes and in order that it would be corrected.
There is also a need to make the learning situations during math subjects more conducive and with little emphasis on pressure. The more students enjoy and feel comfortable in the learning situation the easier it is for them to learn. Math must be looked upon in a positive light to reduce anxiety.
Students must also be encouraged to see math as a wholesome and challenging subject. Math teachers must also remember common things when teaching math among them: the teacher should not put down a wrong answer, take the emphasis off of tests and avoid timed tests, do not present Math as an unlearn-able, difficult subject, and find good reasons to study Math.
A teacher should not put down a wrong answer in the sense that the teacher should guide students to correct their answers and to strive to arrive at a correct answer. Also timed tests produce pressure on the part of the students; there is a greater need to look into the quality of answers than the number of answered questions. Teachers to should look at Math as subject to be enjoyed by their students and not a subject those students should fear. Teachers must also teach math in a practical and useful way to attract students’attention.
Math anxiety is real and failure to recognize its harmful effects in the teaching of Mathematics defeats the purpose of instruction. Math anxiety must be addressed first before one can truly teach Math with ease.
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The author is Teacher I at Pio Elementary School Porac West District