GOALS IN MATH EDUCATION is the result of construction or the formation of

ourselves.
The Goals of Math Education
Lev Vygotsky
• Problem Solving – according to Polya (1945 &
1962), mathematical problem solving is finding a • Social constructivism was developed.
way around a difficulty, around an obstacle, and • States that, every function in the child’s cultural
finding a solution to a problem that is unknown. development appears twice: first, on the social
• Critical Thinking – according to Scriven and level and, later on, on the individual level; first,
Paul (1987), is the intellectually disciplined between people (inter-psychological) and then
process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, inside the child (intra-psychological).
applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or
evaluating information gathered from, or Constructivism in Mathematics
generated by, observation, experience, reflection,
• Most traditional mathematics instruction and
reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief
curricula are based on the transmission, or
and action.
absorption, view of teaching and learning.
• In this view, students passively “absorb”
mathematical structures invented by others and
1. Content Areas – numbers and numbers sense, recorded in texts or known by authoritative
measurement, geometry, patterns and algebra, adults.
and probability and statistics. • Teaching consists of transmitting sets of
2. Specific Skills – knowing and understanding; established facts, skills, and concepts to students.
estimating, computing and solving; visualizing
and modelling; representing and communicating; Basis of Constructivism
conjecturing, reasoning, proving, and decision-
making; and applying and connecting. 1. Knowledge is actively created or invented by the
3. Values and Attitudes – accuracy, creativity, child, not passively received from the
objectivity, perseverance, and productivity. environment. This idea can be illustrated by the
4. Appropriate Tools – manipulative objects, Piagetian position that mathematical ideas are
measuring devices, calculators and computers, made by children, not found like a pebble or
smartphones and tablet PCs, and the internet. accepted from others like a gift (Sinclair, in
5. Context – locale, situation, or set of conditions of Steffe and Cobb 1988).
Filipino learners that may influence the study. 2. Children create new mathematical knowledge by
This includes beliefs, environment, language and reflecting on their physical and mental actions.
culture that include traditions and practices, as Ideas are constructed or made meaningful when
well as the learner’s prior knowledge and children integrate them into their existing
experiences. structures of knowledge.
6. Learning Principles – experiential and situated 3. Only individual interpretations of the world.
learning, reflective learning, constructivism, These interpretations are shaped by experience
cooperative learning and discovery and inquiry- and social interactions. Thus, learning
based learning. mathematics should be thought of as a process of
adapting to and organizing one’s quantitative
world, not discovering preexisting ideas imposed
by others.
CONSTRUCTIVISM IN MATH 4. Learning is a social process in which children
grow into the intellectual life of those around
Jean Piaget
them (Bruner, 1986). Mathematical ideas and
• Considered the father of constructivist view of truths, both in use and in meaning, are
learning. cooperatively established by the members of a
• States that, “learning is modeling, transforming, culture.
and understanding the way in which an object is “Education is NOT the filling of a pail but the lighting
constructed.” of a fire.”
Constructivist Learning

• Constructivist is one of the schools of philosophy

that has the view that the knowledge that we have
DALE’S CONE OF EXPERIENCE • Contrived experiences are imitations that
sometimes teach better than the realities they
Edgar Dale imitate.
• Born in 1900 Dramatized Experiences
• He grew up one a family farm in North Dakota,
United States. • Can be seen as role-play exercises.
• Ohio State University (1929-1970) • Involves shifting learners – at least some of them
• In addition to mentoring doctoral students and – from observers to active participants.
working as a professor, Dale made significant • It provides a safe environment for
contributions in many areas of research. experimentation.
• Work and Accomplishments: • Learners can become more familiar with the
o How to Appreciate Motion Pictures concepts as they emerge themselves into the “as-
(1933); Teaching with Motion Pictures if” situation.
(1937); Audiovisual Methods in
Teaching (1946, 1954, 1969); Building Demonstrations
a Learning Environment (1972); The
• Visualized explanations of facts, ideas or
Living Word Vocabulary; The Words
processes.
We Know (1976); The Educator’s
• Demonstrations can include pictures, drawings,
Quotebook (1984).
film and other types of media in order to facilitate
Dale’s Cone of Experience clear and effective learning.
• Demonstrations may or may not include an
• Places different educational media and methods element of participation.
in a continuum from the most concrete
experiences at the bottom to the most abstract at Field/Study Trips
the top.
• Study trips offer the sights and sounds of real-
• Cone of Experience explains the
world settings.
interrelationships of the various types of media
and their individual ‘positions’ in the learning • The main activity focuses on observing from the
process. sidelines, aside from occasional opportunities to
participate.
• Level of the Cone is NOT EQUAL to learners’
level of recall. • Field trips provide an opportunity to experience
something that learners cannot be encounter
• The shape is to convey the gradual loss of
within the traditional classroom.
sensory information.
• The shape had nothing to do with deciding that Exhibits
one kind of experience is better than another.
• Too much reliance on concrete experience may • Can be summarized as meaningful displays with
actually obstruct the process of meaningful limited handling. After all, most exhibits are
generalization. experiences that are for the eyes only.
• This experience allows learners to see the
Direct Purposeful Experiences meaning and relevance of things based on the
different pictures and representations presented.
• Learners learn by doing tasks themselves. As a
result, learning happens through actual hands-on Motion Pictures
experiences.
• These rich, full-bodied experiences can be • Videos, animations and TV Programs, which
considered the bedrock of all education. imply value and messages through moving
• Learners can see, handle, taste, feel, touch, and pictures.
smell these experiences. • These are abstract experiences, as learners focus
on observation instead of active participation.
Contrived Experiences
Audio/Recordings/Photos
• Focuses on the ‘editing’ of reality.
• Teachers use representative models and mock- • Recordings, radio and still pictures. In more
ups to provide an experience that is as close to modern terms, this level can include photos,
reality as possible. podcasts, or audio files.
• You are merely observing visual symbols or
verbal symbols.
Visual Symbols Conjecture Reasoning

• Charts, maps, graphs, and diagrams that are used - Conjecture is a mathematical statement that has
for conceptual representations. not yet been rigorously proved.
• Help drive understanding by conveying a - It arises when one notices a pattern that holds
meaning that is shared by the rest of society. true for many cases.
• Include simple illustrations that do not include - However, just because a pattern hold true for
any unnecessary detail. many cases does not mean that the pattern will
hold true for all cases.
Verbal Symbols - Conjecture must be proved for the mathematical
observation to be fully accepted.
• Highly abstract as they bear no physical - When a conjecture is rigorously proved, it
resemblance to the objects or ideas they stand for. becomes a theorem.
• Provide no visual representation or clues to their
meaning. TYPES OF CONJECTURE
• Use of verbal symbols are the furthest removed
from real-life. 1. Collatz Conjecture
2. Twin Prime
3. Goldbach’s Conjecture
4. Gauss Circle Problem

Patterning

- It has at least three roles in the mathematics

classroom.
o First, generating and using patterns
typically requires students to practice
basic skills such as addition,
subtraction, multiplication, and
division.
o Second, students can identify and
generalize patterns to make predictions
and solve problems.
o Third, and most importantly, patterns
stimulate learning.

CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS

Argumentation

- The practice of argumentation involves making

claims, supporting them with evidence,
evaluating the reasoning of others, and making
sense of mathematical ideas.
- Identified by the Common Core Standards as
central to the work of K-12 Mathematics.

Conflict Resolution

- Solving real and authentic contradicting ideas.

- The students must decide and evaluate which side
is correct and acceptable.
- Allows students to explore the concept of both
topics or both angles of perspective.
- Deciding which perspective is correct requires
depth understanding of concepts.
COOPERATIVE LEARNING - A development of the concept of experiential
- Involves structuring a class around small groups learning.
that work together in such a way that each group STUDENTS MUST REFLECT ON THE
member’s success is dependent on the group’s FOLLOWING:
success. 1. Materials and Subject Content.
- Students work together in small groups on a 2. Understanding procedures.
structured activity. 3. Own learning process.
- Individually accountable for their work. 4. Abilities and Preferences.
- Work of the group as a whole is assessed. 5. Thought Process.
- Works face-to-face and learn to work as a team. 6. Study and Life Goals.
COOPERATION IS NOT… CRITERIA FOR REFLECTION
a. Cooperation is NOT having students sit side-by- Carol Rodgers
side at the same table to talk with each other as - Understanding how teachers learn to shift their
they do their individual assignments. attention from themselves and their teaching to
b. Cooperation is NOT assigning a report to a group their students and understanding.
of students where one student does all the work
and the others put their names on the product as 1. MEANING-MAKING PROCESS – approach
well. to reflective practice where the individual sees
c. Cooperation involves more than being physically experience and meaning-making as a
near other students, discussing material, helping, foundational reflective elements in the learning
or sharing material with other students. process and to improve performance.
BENEFITS OF COOPERATIVE LEARNING 2. RIGOUROUS PRACTICES – experience;
1. Students learn significantly more, remembers it interpretation of experience; stating the problem;
longer, and develop better critical-thinking skills. generating explanations; developing hypotheses;
2. Students will go on jobs that require teamwork. experimenting.
3. Students enjoy cooperative learning more than 3. COMMUNITY ENDEAVOR – understand the
traditional lecture classes. value of peer-feedbacking on their thinking.
COOPERATIVE LEARNING PROVIDES… 4. SET OF ATTITUDES
• Clearly identified goals. BENEFITS IF REFLECTIVE TEACHING AND
• Active participation. LEARNING
• Diversity 1. Self-direction
• Challenge and resolution. 2. Social and Emotional
• Proper use of individual schema. 3. Goal-directed
• Mutual respect 4. Prior knowledge
COOPERATIVE LEARNING STRUCTURES 5. Organization
1. Numbered Heads Together 6. Motivation
2. Jigsaw 7. Mastery
3. Round Robin REFLECTIVE LEARNING STRUCTURE
4. Think, Pair, and Share S – situation
5. Corners E – effect
A – action
REFLECTIVE LEARNING L – learning
- Involves looking back. • Reporting
- Reflection will help students learn from their past • Responding
experiences. • Relating
- Help students identify gaps in their learning. • Reasoning
- Involves actively monitoring and assessing • Reconstructing
knowledge, abilities, and performance.
John Dewey
- Founder of Reflective Teaching
- Not just a passive recall.
- It is a deliberate and active process.
- Thinking to learn.