According to the
Clark County School District database in 2008, an approximation of 90 percent of high school students were not
able to obtain a good foundation in Algebra I, 87 percent did not perform
successfully in Algebra II, and 88
percent failed in Geometry. As a result, it led to many negative impacts on
students’ learning processes, such as a low GPA and a low level of critical
thinking. Behind these tremendous impacts, there are three significant factors
that weaken students’ ability in developing Mathematical skills: bad teachers,
failure to learn the materials, and difficult study environments associated
with other personal issues
Learning math is beautiful |
Do we fail in teaching math? |
In
general, Mathematics is a mandatory subject that every high school student has
to take every year in order to graduate. Beside the fact that unqualified
teaching skill may cause stumbling blocks in a student’s learning process,
Mathematics itself is the toughest subject in a scientific field. As Albert
Einstein once said, “Pure
Mathematics is, in its way, the poetry of logical ideas.” Due to
the variety of ways to solve a problem, Math seems to challenge students’
abilities to brainstorm and apply their knowledge. According to the research from
the University of California, Los Angeles, an estimation of sixty percent of college
students who initially major in STEM (science, technology, engineering, math), end
up transferring their dreams to a less numerical field due to a weak foundation. Mathematics is not simply a set
of rules as we have learnt in K-12; it is more about a training of a mind to
think logically and creatively. One
study of Rusczyk, the owner of the Art of Problem Solving program, shows that students who have participated in Math
Clubs and contests are more prepared and accustomed to face rigorous problems
than those who only have attended regular classes. That is to say, the benefit
that students earn in learning Mathematics is an ideal ability to think out of
the box in many scientific and technical curricula. It also teaches us how to
approach a problem in different angles by using various methods instead of
using a solid set of rules to get to final destination. Therefore, having a
strong foundation of Math is important in defining whether a student succeeds in
this subject.
Following
the two main factors above, a student’s failure to meet the standard
expectations in Math also depends on their study environment and personal
issues. The first step towards an effective learning is to create ideal study
environments that might utilize students’ productivity. As it is explained
earlier, doing mathematics contains several complicated steps, surrounding
factors such as background noise, lighting, other activities might distract
students from concentrating on studying. Once students are not able to focus,
the percentage of having correct answers will decrease in the process.
Therefore, eliminating distractions will allow students to be productive as
well as to ensure their academic success. On the other hand, personal issues
such as family influences, lack of motivation and negative attitudes toward
Math also limit the ability to excel this subject. For instance, students tend
to perform badly in Math if their family members do not have a strong academic
background, or those who do not major in STEM intend to put less efforts than
the required study program classes. In other words, bad performance in Math is
not only influenced by instructors and an ability to think creatively, it is
also affected by the study environment and personal issue towards students’ paths
of success.
All
in all, many students nowadays do not pay attention in Math class as much as
they do in their favorite subjects due to three factors: the instructors’
faulty teaching skills, their inability to creatively brainstorm in
Mathematics, and some personal issues. Teachers’ inability to present Math as a
subject that requires creative brainstorming has resulted in students seeing it
as simply a memorization of facts and formulas. However, if students see Math
as requiring creative brainstorming, more students precisely think Math as
being incompatible with their interest will be intrigued by the study of Math. As more study Math, this
will increase the society’s confidence in Math and provide more support for the
study of Math with future generations.
I definitely agree with you that "students' performance in Mathematics depend on how their teachers perform in class." Teachers have to show their passions in Math to their students. Beside teaching theory, teachers should show the applications of what they are teaching to their students. That's some of my ideas. Great job, Hao :)
ReplyDeleteI agree with your view on this issue. Personally I been in one of those situation.
ReplyDeleteWhich one? I bet you wish you'd been lucky enough to have someone like Hao as a math teacher. I'm sure her passion for the subject would really shine through.
DeleteThanks for sharing a topic such as this one. Now,we know some of the reasons why many students fail to succeed in mathematics.
ReplyDelete