Explain the integers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Explain the integers - Essay Example All authors believe that teachers should use a variety of representations and even some relatively unconventional tools. Following is the explanation of various approaches towards teaching mathematics in schools. Mental mathematics, linking cubes, drawings, mental images, concrete materials, equations, base-ten blocks, computer programs can all be used with the goal of students to find the representations they personally can manipulate (physically and or mentally) with most ease and meaning. By choosing the representation that represents how they personally think, students can attach meaning to the situation and it becomes more accessible. Parents should also learn their childrens learning style even if it differs from their own. Parents are also encouraged to "pretend" they enjoy mathematics and can do them "as well and anybody" (Dedyna, 2002, Press). For Thompson, one of the simplest ways of teaching vocabulary is to explain the concepts first, and then attach the term to it. This strategy can be used in conjunction with etymologies (word origins) because when students know these roots, they can make connections between common English words with which they are familiar and mathematics terms. After the space race focus, researchers world wide have in the last twenty years taught us a lot about childrens understanding of numeracy and how they come to develop these ideas. Young-Love ridge (2002) drew attention to the fact that many of the understandings children had on entering school were not well matched to the curriculum and what they were taught. Baroody et al (2005) mentions the work of ten different researchers or research groups who assisted the understanding of childrens mathematical thinking in the last twenty years. Young-Love ridge (2005) acknowledged that teachers in Australia and United States that were given a framework, were better able facilitate their students learning. She valued the work of Fuson and Renick in the United