Letter to teachers or other book users

Mathematics Learning

http://peda.net/pol­ku/ovi

This book has been written to help teachers or parents, who want to help the children in their mathematics learning process. This present chapter is titled by Some Predictors of Mathematics Learning. The picture gives the main areas, which are used in this short introduction. We have six subtitles:

• Teaching,
• Thinking,
• Motivation,
• Interaction,
• Self-Esteem,
• and Attitudes.

Click the picture to make it bigger!

We first discuss the relationships with the different variables. As teachers we try to teach the children by using Attitudes, we have to sell our selves so that the students like their teachers. You can not sell your subject (mathematics) if they hate you. They must like you be fo re they like your mathematics. The attitudes about the teacher and the mathematics must be in order. This would mean that the interaction in the class room must function well. The students must understand that their teacher like  them and is ready to help them in mathematics solving problems. That would mean that the Attitudes and the Interaction together activate the Sefl-Esteem of the students.

If the Self-Esteem is good enough the students are activated for explorative behavior, which means that they are motivated. Without motivation there is no learning. And the motivation should be intrinsic motivation. When the explorative behavior is activated it would also mean that the thinking process, which really is needed in mathematics problems, is activated. I would say that the students get also critical thinking abilities in this kind of learning process.