Through the years, I’ve figured out that it is a profound way of many students to consider Mathematics as a difficult subject. They developed worry towards it which then later leads to anxiety.
Nevertheless, did you know that there are lot of techniques that we can use in order to overcome the feeling of being intimidated towards the subject?
The use of manipulatives in different Math activities is a technique that can create an environment that motivate students to participate in the lessons.
These manipulatives come in many shapes and forms; they vary in price and complexity. These include calculators, money, two-color counters, buttons, paper clips, tooth picks, string, playing cards, rulers, number cubes (dice), graph paper, empty egg cartons, capacity containers (measuring cups), spinners, drinking straws, thermometers, pattern blocks, dominoes, geo-boards to name only a few of the commonly available manipulatives that can be used successfully in the classroom. They can be used to teach concepts such as angles, decimals, factoring, estimation, fractions, measurement, counting, percent, prime numbers, probability, geometry, place value and whole numbers.
Games are also effective in motivating students to actively participate in class discussions. Using manipulatives while playing allow students to apply what they learned.
Laura Candler, TeachHUB Blogger share some ways in dealing with problem solving.
1. Instead of assigning three or four problems at a time, present a single problem and include class time to examine and discuss the solution.
2. Mix up the types of problems you assign so your students are reviewing a variety of content knowledge and skills over time.
3. Keep problem solving sessions short at first – no more than 10 to 15 minutes a day. As students begin to enjoy these sessions, occasionally include longer problems that require more persistence.
4. Refer to word problems as “puzzlers,” “brain teasers,” or “stumpers,” and present them as fun challenges rather than dreaded math problems.
5. Alternate cooperative learning strategies with independent work to add an element of fun and to stimulate higher level of thinking.
However, even when allowing students to work with others, provide time for them to read and think about the problem independently before discussing it with a partner or team.
6. Occasionally combine problem solving with a class-movement activity to energize your students and spark creative thinking.
Try Music-Mix-Math in which students quietly mix around the room until you stop the music, at which time they find a partner and solve the next problem on their math worksheet.
7. Allow students to use calculators during problem-solving sessions. Being able to use a calculator encourages your students to choose strategies that involve more complex thinking than their limited computation skills might normally allow.
8. Require students to show their work with pictures, symbols, or words, but don’t require them to write complete sentence explanations for every problem they solve.
Making students write paragraph explanations every day is a sure way to kill their enthusiasm. Once a week is plenty for written explanations.
9. Have students solve math problems on boards. It’s easy to brush away mistakes and it’s easy for you to see their work as you walk around the room monitoring and providing assistance.
10. After giving students time to solve a problem, reveal the correct answer yourself rather than calling on different students to find out if they have the right answer.
This step will greatly relieve your students’ anxiety. It takes the focus away from finding the answer, and it sets the stage for a great discussion on how to solve the problem.
11. Ask students volunteers to bring their math papers to show the class how they solved the problem.
Be sure they explain the steps they used to arrive at their answers.
12. After the first student shows how to solve the problem, ask, “How many more ways can we solve this problem?” Keep a class tally of all the different strategies. It’s amazing how many different ways kids will dream up when you show that you value “outside of the box” thinking.
This step motivates kids to pay attention during the discussion and it encourages creativity. They quickly figure out that if they want to be called on to share their strategy, they will have to come up with novel methods of solving problems.
Other teachers may have had similar problems as I am but when they’ll try these approaches, they will surely have a great time with their students and probably will come up with a nice result.
References: http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/
http://www.teachhub.com/overcome-students-math-anxiety
By: Leonida R. Cuenca
