Response to a reading from Martha W. Alibali and Mitchell J. Nathan on Embodiment in Mathematics Teaching and Learning: Evidence From Learner's and Teacher's Gestures.
The writer stated three ways in which embodiment mathematics assist in mathematics learning process in schools. This taking place consciously or unconsciously. The first method is pointing and as Alibali and Nathan put it, is commonly in lower primary schools in Kenya. The second is representational in which assist in bringing any given situation into a classroom for natural knowledge acquisition. The third is metaphoric. Glenberg and Robertson [1999, 2000] are emphasizing the use of embodied mathematics as they argue that pointing links speech to associated mental process.Alibali and Nathan based information that embodied knowledge is an integral component of math thinking.
When I first stepped to teachers training college, our maths methodology tutor made us make sounds and movement with our fingers when writing numbers. The method was to teach us how to go and introduce numbers to class one pupils. Practically there are several body movements conveying messages in a mathematics lesson. It's in the context that it require professional input so as for equipping curriculum implementors entirely.
Question
Teachers engage in embodiments mathematics frequently when discharging duties. How best should this be practice to make learning more enjoyable?
Embodiment as a pedagogical approach stresses building bridge between student’s physical experience and abstract notions. In practice, I found the appropriate use of mathematical manipulatives in classrooms can be very effective, especial for elementary students. I have used educational robotics in math classrooms for several years. It can be seen as the digital version of previously designed manipulatives. Of course, with the aid with the technology, it offers more feedback opportunities to students and teachers. In a typical activity, students will command robots to move along the number line. During the activity, engagement and participation is noticeable higher than doing questions on paper.
ReplyDeleteExcept for some students who like mathematics, most students have a negative impression for mathematics, and they might think mathematics is demanding, cold, evil… My suggestion to solve this phenomenon is that we should attach emotion to mathematics classroom. Although we have to investigate how we can connect emotion to mathematics, mathematics with emotion makes students draw attention in mathematics. Mathematics educators should keep exploring whether the current teaching approach is appropriate for the current students: Do we really have to be in the classroom when doing mathematics class? Do we have to use chalk? Do we have to use textbooks? Do we have to make all students to be seated? There are many objects and spaces which can be used as a teaching tool even though they do not intend for mathematics learning. I suppose mathematics teachers are required to keep finding the gate to the outside of conventional mathematics.
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