Many students hate Mathematics, especially in this generation where everyone is engage into different kinds of gadgets. And because they can easily get information through their gadgets, critical thinking and solving problems are very big deal to them. This is very alarming on the part of Mathematics educators especially that every students can hardly find the application of most of the lessons in Mathematics in their real life. These result to the low performance in Mathematics in their National Achievement Test, and even get lowest grade in their report cards.
What if we teach them Mathematics in a different way, a strategy which will not only make them love Mathematics but help improve their values as well? As I browse the internet searching for an Action Research, one caught my attention authored by Margaret Taplin from Institute of Sathya Sai Education, Hongkong, which entitles Teaching Values Through a Problem Solving Approach to Mathematics. She stated that: for many reasons, the state of society has reached a stage where it is more critical than ever to educate people in the traditional values of their culture. It is indeed thatin recent years there has been a considerable discussion about whether it is the responsibility of schools to impart values education. And truly, there is a growing pressure for all teachers to become teachers of values, through modelling, discussing and critiquing values-related issues.
There are many opportunities to teach the principles of values education through existing subjects and topics. And there are lots of suggested ways in which values education can be incorporated into existing Mathematics curricula and approaches to teaching Mathematics, which according to research were applied in 40 different countries around the world.
These quotations are concerned with the following values:
Integrating what is learned with the whole being
Developing general knowledge and common sense
Arousing attention and interest in the field of knowledge so it will be mastered in a worthy way
Equipping students to meet challenge of life.
Learning how to be discriminating in use of knowledge, that is to know what knowledge is appropriate to use for what purpose
Ms. Margaret in her action research also mentioned How can values be enhanced by teaching Mathematics via problem solving, and these are through :
Reading a map to find direction
Understanding weather report
Understanding economic indicators
Understanding loan payments
Calculating whether the cheapest item is the best buy
Increasing numbers of individuals need to be able to think for themselves in a constantly changing environment, particularly as technology is making larger quantities of information easier to access and to manipulate. They also need to be able to adopt to unfamiliar or unpredictable situations more easily than people needed to in the past. Teaching Mathematics encompasses skills and functions which are part of everyday life.
Presenting a problem and developing the skills needed to solve that problem is more motivational than teaching the skills without a context. It allows the students to see a reason for learning Mathematics., and hence to become more deeply involved in learning it. Teaching through problem solving can enhance logical reasoning, helping people to be able to develop their own rules in a situation where an existing rule cannot be directly applied. Problem solving can also allow the whole person to develop by experiencing the full range of emotions associated in various stages and solution process. A journal of what a student experienced in solving a problem can help self-evaluation and self-motivation.
Suggested types of problems to which the students should be exposed are:
Word problems, where the concept is embedded in a real-world situation and the student is required to recognize and apply the appropriate algorithm/rule (preparing pupils for the challenge of life)
Non-routine problems which require a higher degree of interpretation and organization of the information in the problem, rather than just the recognition and application of algorithm ( encouraging the development of general knowledge and common sense)
“real” problems, concerned with investigating a problem which is real too the students, does not necessarily have a fixed solution, and uses mathematics as a tool to find a solution ( engaging pupils to service to society)
Mathematical Investigations, can also be considered as a method of problem solving. According to Bird, 1983, investigation approach is suitable for many topics in the curriculum and encourages communication, confidence, motivation and understanding as well as mathematical thinking. The use of this approach makes it difficult for students to just carry out routine tasks without thinking about what they are doing.
These, suggested some reasons why problem solving is an important vehicle for educating students for life promoting interest, developing common sense and the power to discriminate. In particular, it is an approach which encourages flexibility, the ability to respond to unexpected situations, or situations that do not have an immediate solution, and helps develop perseverance in the face of failure. A problem solving approach can provide a vehicle for students to construct their own ideas about mathematics and to take responsibility for their own learning, while these are all important in Mathematics.
By: ROCCHELY N. DELLOSA | T-III | Limay National High School
