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In this-fifth-semester, I have a pedagogical course which is
called "Classroom Language Strategies: Explaining and Exemplifying"
or we make it short CLS-EE Course. I guess, this course will explore much more
on how do we explain and exemplify in the mathematical classroom with many
strategies. In the beginning of this course, all of the students should answer
three questions. Here, I just wanna share my answers.
1)
Is
the mathematics teacher’s ability in explaining & exemplifying really
important? Why? Aren’t there other ways of teaching & learning mathematics?
Yes, it is. The mathematics teacher’s ability
in explaining and exemplifying is really important because the students will
get confuse or will get nothing in learning mathematics if the teacher does not
give the explanations and the examples properly. Also, if the teacher does not
have a good ability in explaining and exemplifying, the worst thing that
happens is the students are wrong in understanding the concept. If the teacher
gives wrong explanation or chooses the wrong example, the student may be
confused. Moreover, if they have a wrong concept, it will affect to their
learning in the future. There are so many ways in teaching and learning
mathematics; by playing games, using software, doing role plays, and etc.
However, the part of explaining and exemplifying exist in every way of teaching
and learning mathematics; explaining and exemplifying cannot be separated from
the teaching and learning mathematics.
2)
If
it is, when should teachers give explanations & examples? When should
teachers stop giving explanations & examples? When does a teacher know when
his/her explanations & examples are too much or too little?
The teachers
should give explanations and examples when he/she wants to teach the basic
concepts of mathematics. The explanation and examples are not necessarily given
in the beginning of the lesson; it can be done in the end of the lesson. I
meant in introducing a new concept, we can give problems to the students to
solve in the beginning of the lesson. After that, we guide them to find the
concept by their thought; we let them build their mind by themselves. Next, we
can sum up or give the conclusion from students’ thought and give another
example in the end of the lesson to make sure that they are in the right way in
having the true concept. However, we may not give the explanations and examples
too much because it doesn’t sharp students’ critical thinking; it is just like
filling students’ thought by our thought. We can stop giving explanations and
examples when the students seem understand the topic. We can ask the
low-achiever-student to make sure that he/she understands the topic. I think, if
they have understood the topic, it means the whole class has understood too and
we can stop giving explanations and examples. When we give too much explanation
and example, it can cause the students feel bore, so we should stop in giving
explanations and examples. Meanwhile, if students’ expression shows that they
have not understood yet, it means we should give more explanation and examples;
may be our explanations and examples are too short.
3)
What
is the main goal of teaching mathematics? Can the teacher’s ability to explain
& exemplify help reach that goal? How?
The main goals
of teaching mathematics understand the concept of mathematics itself and then
apply it in daily life. The teachers’ ability in explaining and exemplifying
are a part of the success in reaching the goals themselves. If the teacher
gives a clear explanation and chooses the proper examples, the students will
understand the concept clearly and it is helped by understanding the proper
examples, so that the students can apply it in daily life.
